Updated: September 13, 2020 11:33:58 am
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (23) leads the offense during the second half of an NBA conference semifinal basketball game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
The Los Angeles Lakers will go to the conference finals for the first time in a decade, ending the longest drought in franchise history.
LeBron James is going there for the first time since 2018. For him, that also qualifies as ending a drought.
James scored 29 points and the Lakers concluded their first trip to the Western Conference final since 2010 by beating the Houston Rockets 119-96 on Saturday night in Game 5 at Walt Disney World.
“It’s the reason I wanted to be a part of this franchise, to take them back to a place that they were used to, and that’s competing for a championship,” James said. “It is an honor for me to wear purple and gold, and for us, we are just trying to carry on the legacy.”
👀 LeBron ATTACK from #OculusFrontRowView! pic.twitter.com/cV40E2Pqlz
– NBA (@NBA) September 13, 2020
Kyle Kuzma scored 17 points, Markieff Morris had 16, Danny Green added 14 and Anthony Davis finished with 13 for the Lakers’ top seeds. They will play the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers or third-seeded Denver Nuggets for the West title in a series that won’t start before Wednesday.
James is going to the conference finals for the 11th time overall – six with Cleveland, four with Miami and now with the Lakers. It is the ninth time he has reached this round in the last 10 seasons; the only flaw in that stretch was last season, when his inaugural year with the Lakers fell apart due to injury and the team missed the playoffs.
“The opportunity to play for a championship, that’s what we’re all here for, that’s what we’re all signing up for,” said James.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have combined for 542 PTS, 212 REB and 129 AST in their first 10 playoff games together. The only other duos in NBA history to eclipse 500+ PTS, 200+ REB, and 100+ AST in the first 10 playoff games are:
Oscar Robertson by Jack Twyman
Elgin Baylor by Jerry West pic.twitter.com/hdh5jxlgxG– NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) September 13, 2020
James Harden scored 30 points, Jeff Green scored 13 and Russell Westbrook had 10 for Houston.
“Tough season for us,” Harden said. “Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. I just have to figure it out. “
And now that the offseason is here, speculation about the future of coach Mike D’Antoni will mount. His contract with the Rockets is now complete, the parties could not agree on the terms of any extensions a year ago and he has been mentioned as a candidate for vacancies in Indiana and Philadelphia.
“We have a great organization, a great city, great fans, the team is great,” said D’Antoni. “I mean, everything is fine here. We’ll see what happens, but I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I was four years old and I hope it continues. You never know “.
It was a tough ending to a tough week for the Rockets.
👑👀🏀👌#PhantomCam#NBAPlayoffs #AllNewGame pic.twitter.com/iFqOcsCj8l
– NBA (@NBA) September 13, 2020
Westbrook exchanged heated words with a fan from the family section during the fourth quarter; NBA security asked the man, identified by ESPN as the brother of Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, to leave the game.
“He started talking crazy,” Westbrook said. “I don’t play that game.”
Houston won Game 1 of the series and lost the next four. Saturday’s final came a day after Danuel House, who averaged 11.4 points in nine playoff games this season, was told to leave the bubble. An NBA investigation showed that he had an unauthorized guest in his room for several hours earlier this week and missed the last three games of the series.
LeBron James joins Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA Playoff history to record 250+ PTS, 100+ REB and 80+ AST in the first ten games of a single playoff. pic.twitter.com/OA96O0xVZX
– NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) September 13, 2020
“It affected us,” said Harden, who called the situation disappointing.
The Lakers held a 33-11 lead, although Houston came back with a 17-2 run to get within seven. The Lakers’ lead was 62-51 at the half after the Rockets converted 13 Los Angeles turnovers into 15 points, the main reason Houston was still in the game up to that point.
Houston approached seven on a Westbrook drive 2:09 in the third, and that was the Rockets’ last real breath of hope. The Lakers scored the next 15 points and the lead was 95-69 in the fourth quarter.
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