Lakers put off Miami’s Heat to clinch NBA Championship

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

After a decade, the Los Angeles Lakers are back at the top of the NBA.

LeBron James put on another classic performance for the purple and gold after mounting another career triple-double, 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists to end Miami Heat’s historic season in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, 106-93.

The Heat looked like they ran out of gas in Game 6, trailing as much as 36 points in the game and giving up too many easy looks for the Lakers in the paint.

Alex Caruso’s insertion into the starting lineup was a difference-maker in Game 6. Without Howard in the lane clogging up the paint, the Lakers found multiple angles to attack the Heat’s interior defense with James feasting on the smaller defenders.

Rajon Rondo was a spark off the bench, providing a huge scoring punch for the Lakers during the 2^nd quarter where they mounted a huge lead to end the half, 64-36.

Miami Nation came alive at the start of the third quarter after blitzing their way to an 11-3 start off better ball movement and post scoring from Bam Adebayo but the Lakers were quick to recover after James answered another Heat run.

It was all Lakers in the final frame after Anthony Davis imposed his will underneath finishing the game with a monster double-double, 19 points and 15 rebounds.

The Lakers headed into the NBA restart with heavy hearts after LA legend and basketball icon Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash together with his daughter, Gianna.

James and company vowed to win the title for Kobe and his family with Davis in the end saying, “We did not let him down.”

The win also marked James’ 4^th NBA Finals MVP award and set a new NBA record as the first player to win the award with three different teams.

Despite the loss, it was also a stellar season for Miami, upsetting the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals while also outlasting the talented Boston Celtics team in the East Finals.

It was a great fight for Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, coach Erik Spoelstra, and the rest of the Heat organization but the Lakers emerged to be the better team after lifting the Larry O’ Brien trophy.