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By Reuters 
20h ago
ORLANDO – With the Los Angeles Lakers on track to miss their sixth straight postseason last year, LeBron James promised fans the drought wouldn’t last much longer.
The King fulfilled in 2020, and something else. In a year that has seen the country battle a pandemic and racial injustice and the Lakers franchise grapple with the immeasurable loss of an icon, James led Los Angeles to perhaps the most significant of its 17 record-breaking championships, sealed on Sunday. at night with 106 -93 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
James capped his fourth championship with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory. He became the first player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three different teams and won the award for the fourth time behind Michael Jordan (six) in the league’s record books.
“To think I have something to prove drives me,” James said, cigarette in hand, after his record-setting 260th playoff game.
“No matter what I’ve done in my career up to this point, there are still little rumors of doubt, comparing me to the history of the game. ‘He’s done this, he’s done that.’ Having that in my head, telling myself why I don’t have something to prove yet, I think it gives me energy. “
Along with the offseason acquisition Anthony Davis, James led the Lakers to first place in the Western Conference in his second season with the club, dominating a regular season played around a 4 1/2 month hiatus brought on by the pandemic. of coronavirus.
Los Angeles was 16-5 in the playoffs and never lost consecutive games.
The team also didn’t lose sight of the importance of winning in memory of Laker legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash in January.
“Since the tragedy, all we wanted to do was do it for him,” said Davis, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds Sunday.
Rajon Rondo scored 19 for the Lakers, who tied the Boston Celtics for most titles in league history with their first championship since 2010. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 points.
Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder had 12 each for the Heat. Goran Dragic came back from four lost games with a foot injury, but it wasn’t enough for Miami to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-1 in the series.
“It’s tough, because it was special to us,” Butler said of the team’s Cinderella run. “We really enjoy playing with each other, we really enjoy being together. I appreciate it and am grateful that I had the opportunity to do that.”
The Lakers were never behind in Game 6, freshman coach Frank Vogel shook things up from the front by opening Alex Caruso over Dwight Howard and trading Davis to center. Caruso had only made two starts all season. The move paid off, as Los Angeles effectively ended the game by outscoring Miami 36-16 in the second quarter.
Completed work.@King James #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/Evyy6OOpch
– NBA (@NBA) October 12, 2020
A 13-0 run on the period, capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Caldwell-Pope, saw the Lakers win 30, 64-34, with 49.6 seconds left at the half. The margin was 28 at halftime, the second-largest advantage at halftime in NBA Finals history.
Davis and Caldwell-Pope each had 15 points at halftime, and Rondo was a spark off the bench with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting. James had 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Butler was limited to eight points on 3-of-7 shooting, as the Heat shot 34.2 percent from the floor as a team during the first 24 minutes.
“We didn’t get the bottom line we wanted,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the disappointing performance. “But these are going to be lifelong memories we have together.”
Intermission did little to stop Los Angeles, who led by 36 before ending the third quarter with an 87-58 lead. Ahead 103-86 with 1:27 remaining, James and Davis went to the bench to start celebrating with their teammates.
“It doesn’t matter where you are if you win a championship: a bubble, Miami, Golden State,” James said. “Getting to this point is one of the greatest feelings in the world for a basketball player.”
Field media via Reuters
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