Another chapter between the LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors is officially closed after the Los Angeles Lakers walked away with a 122-101 victory in Game 6 that allowed them to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
After playing somewhat passively throughout the first five games of the series, James finally resembled the force of nature he is in Game 6 when he made it a point to get to the paint against the Warriors defense. James wasted no time bullying defenders on his way to the basket and that aggressiveness led him to his first 30-point outing of the 2023 Playoffs.
James came into the series against Golden State knowing exactly how hard it would be to beat the reigning champions, so he had no problem giving them high praise after the game had ended.
“First of all, nothing but the utmost respect for their organization,” James said. “But as far as the players –Steph, Draymond and Klay– those are the guys I’ve had the most battles with. Those are the guys I’ve been in the foxhole with–in a war with, or against. Nothing but respect for them. Obviously for the franchise as well.
“For us as a franchise, tonight in general it was great to be able to play one of our most efficient games, one of our best games of the series. And again it started because of the defensive matchup that we have. We defended at a high level and when we do that we can be extremely good and I thought we was locked in as close for 48 minutes as possible tonight.”
Beating the Golden State trio that’s been through so many title runs together is no easy feat, but James and the Lakers managed to come together when the moment arose. Defensively, Los Angeles flew all over the court and made it difficult for Golden State to get too many clean shots off.
Although the purple and gold should celebrate winning such a tough series, the job’s not finished as they now must head on the road again to take on the No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets clearly have the look of a title contender, so James and the Lakers will once again have their work cut out for them.
Austin Reaves expected Lakers to come out with more firepower for Game 6
Following the disappointment of Game 5, Austin Reaves managed to stay even-keeled. In fact, Reaves was confident that the Lakers would come out with more firepower in Game 6 and he proved to be right.
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