An inspired LeBron James sent the Los Angeles Lakers to the Western Conference Finals and knocked off the 2022 NBA champions Golden State Warriors.
The 38-year-old scored 30 points as the Lakers won the best-of-seven series 4-2 with a 122-101 win in Los Angeles.
The Lakers, who finished seventh in the regular season, will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the series to decide who plays in the NBA Finals.
The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds as the Heat won 96-92 at Florida to take a 4-2 series lead and become the first eighth seed in 24 years to reach the conference finals.
They will play either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers, who are tied at 3-3, and play their decisive seventh game on Sunday.
Lakers extend season that started slowly
The Lakers had their worst start to the regular season in 65 years but remained in contention for a 20th conference title and 18th championship after a big win by the Golden State Warriors, who have won four of the last eight NBA titles. live
They were overshadowed by James’ impressive performance in California, in which the NBA’s leading scorer and four-time NBA champion had nine assists and nine rebounds to go with his 30 points.
Anthony Davis, playing through a head injury since Game 5, had 17 points and 20 rebounds as the Lakers cruised to victory.
After the game, James hugged Warriors star Stephen Curry, who scored 32 points in the loss.
“Most of our team hasn’t been in close games,” James said.
“So after Game Five [Wednesday’s 121-106 loss], I knew I had to come out with a lot of aggression but be efficient and strategic in how I played the game.”
