The Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James posted a title-winning triple-double to lead his team to their 17th NBA championship with a 106-93 Game 6 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night of -1 October2020.
The Lakers won by taking the series 4-2 after Miami tried to mount a comeback twice in games 3 and 5. However, LeBron put in a scintillating performance in Game 6 to secure his fourth championship.
The win also brings an end to a season that was left in doubt after the coronavirus pandemic threatened to upend it. The league however resumed in what was called a “bubble” at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Florida and continued without fans.
LeBron James was also crowned the Finals MVP for the fourth time in his career, becoming the first player in NBA history to win the award with three different teams.
He also put on a show in Game 6 with a masterful 28-point game, along with 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while Anthony Davis racked up 19 points, including a crucial last-minute bucket, 15 rebounds, 3 assists in Game 6 as the Lakers franchise clinched its 17th title in style.
“I told (Lakers owner Jeanie Buss) when I came here, I was going to put this franchise back in the position where it belongs. To be part of such a historical franchise, it’s just an unbelievable feeling,” James says. “We just want our respect.”
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It was an emotional victory for the Lakers and it represents more than another banner hanging from the rafters inside the Staples Center.
Following the death of Lakers legend and five-time champion, Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter, Gigi, and seven others in January, this Lakers team had said the painful exit of the lives that was lost was their motivation throughout the title run.
After each win, they echoed Bryant’s now-famous 2009 postseason comments, saying the “job’s not finished.”
The Miami Heat, on the other hand, had its own spectacular playoff run.
They had breakout performances from rookie Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson who is an undrafted free agent, and second-year big man Bam Adebayo.
All three played superbly well before the team experienced several key injuries in the Finals and were ultimately outmatched by the size and experience of the Lakers.
There’s also Jimmy Butler, who gave a man of the moment performances throughout the playoffs and especially in Games 3 and 5 against the Lakers, racking up two monster 40- and 35-point triple-doubles, respectively.
The Heat swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, then upset the two-time reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his Milwaukee Bucks before finishing off the Boston Celtics in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Who is y’all GOAT again?? LeBron F**king King!!!
Congratulations to both Lakers and Heats. Not easy to make it to the finals.