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ORLANDO • With the brave Denver Nuggets refusing to leave, LeBron James took control in Game 5 on Saturday to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their first National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals in a decade.
He scored nine straight points late in the fourth quarter, a stretch capped by a triple that put the Lakers up 115-103 with 1 minute 57 seconds left to close the series in five games.
“He told us it was his time,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said after the 117-107 win in the NBA bubble near Orlando.
“They were giving a shove at the end of the third … Everyone just pulled away a little, let it be him. And he brought it home for us.”
James finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, ensuring the Nuggets can’t bounce back from a 3-1 deficit again after similar comeback victories against the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers.
James, who is in his 17th NBA season, has reached the Finals for the tenth time, a first time with the Lakers. He is tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with Bill Russell (12) and Sam Jones (11) being the only players with the most appearances.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed a player take over a game like he did in the fourth quarter tonight in person,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of the 35-year-old. “It was extraordinary.”
James’ previous nine trips to the Finals were with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, teams in the Eastern Conference.
With skeptics wondering if the three-time NBA champion could thrive in the most competitive Western Conference, James was eager to prove himself.
“He’s had a chip on his shoulder all year,” Vogel told the Washington Post.
“Everyone has doubts. To be in the Eastern Conference and go as far as him and come to the Western Conference, it’s a great achievement to do it with a third team.”
Nikola Jokic had 20 points and seven rebounds for Denver. His three-point play with 4:35 remaining had cut the Lakers’ lead to 103-99.
INCREASING THE OCCASION
I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed a player take over a game like he did in the fourth quarter tonight in person. It was extraordinary.
FRANK VOGEL, Los Angeles Lakers coach, on how star forward LeBron James wished his team would achieve the decisive series victory.
Jerami Grant also scored 20 points, while Jamal Murray, who suffered a concussion to his right knee in the first half, finished with 19 points and eight assists.
Davis scored 27 points for the Lakers, who are back in the championship series for the 32nd time, and the first since lifting the trophy for the 16th time in 2010.
Kobe Bryant was the MVP of the Finals that year, and it has been an exciting road to the Finals this season for the Lakers after the 41-year-old’s death in a helicopter accident in January.
“Every time you wear purple and gold you think of his legacy, you think of him and what he meant to this franchise for more than 20 years,” James said of Bryant.
“I am extremely proud to be a part of this franchise that goes back to where it belongs, and that is championship play.”
The Lakers will face the winners of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The Heat lead 3-2 with Game 6 this morning (Singapore time).
REUTERS, PRESS AGENCY FRANCE
BOSTON V MIAMI
East, Game 6: StarHub Ch202, 7.30am. M.
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