Warriors dinaig ng Lakers upang umabante sa West finals
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers shakes hands with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors following Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinal Playoffs at the Crypto.com Arena on May 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How / Getty Images / AFP
Inalis ng Los Angeles Lakers ang defending champions na Golden State sa NBA playoffs, matapos nilang dominahin ang laro nitong Biyernes (Sabado sa Maynila), at talunin ang Warriors sa score na 122-101, upang umabante sa Western Conference finals.
Si LeBron James ay nag-deliver ng 30-point performance, nang manalo ang Lakers sa semi-final series, 4 games to 2, na nagresulta rin sa tunggalian sa pagitan ni Nikola Jokic at sa top-seeded Denver Nuggets para sa isang puwesto sa NBA Finals.
Ayon kay James, “It’s going to be a great series. They’ve been the number one seed in the West all season long. We give them a lot of respect. Not many (members) of our team have been in close-out games. So after Game 5 up in the Bay, I knew I had to come in with a lot of aggression but be very efficient and very strategic in how I played this game.”
Umiskor si Anthony Davis ng 17 puntos at humila ng 20 rebounds para sa Los Angeles at umiskor naman si Austin Reaves ng 23 puntos — kabilang ang isang half-court shot sa halftime buzzer na naglagay sa Lakers sa 56-46 sa break.
Ang panalo ng Lakers ay nagbigay sa unang pagkakataon sa kasalukuyang Warriors dynasty na pinamumunuan ni Stephen Curry at coach na si Steve Kerr, ng pagkatalo sa isang Western Conference playoff series.
Umabot ang Warriors sa NBA Finals sa anim sa huling walong season, nanalo ng apat na titulo, pero hindi nakuha ang post-season noong 2020 at 2021.
Umiskor si Stephen Curry ng 32 puntos ngunit gumawa lamang ng apat sa kanyang sampung 3-point shot.
Sinabi ni Davis, “(We) just tried to make it tough on them. They’re the defending champion, they’re not going to go away. Their ability to score the ball, shoot the ball is unreal, unmatched. We just wanted to keep the pressure up, the intensity up, and be the hardest-playing team for 48 minutes.”
© Agence France-Presse
