LeBron James put up yet another stellar performance Saturday night, as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out their series with the Denver Nuggets to advance to NBA Finals.
James finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists as the Lakers defeated Denver 4-1 in the best-of-seven series, winning Saturday 117-107.
James, who tallied 16 points in the fourth quarter, recorded his 116th career 30-point performance in the playoffs, the most of all time. His 27th career playoff triple double puts him at second in NBA history, trailing only Magic Johnson, who did it 30 times in his career.
The current Lakers’ star also became the second player in franchise history to record a stat line of at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists since James Worthy did so in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis added 27 points and five rebounds in the win.
The Lakers will play in their first NBA Finals since 2010. The team will now go for their 17th NBA Championship, which would tie them with the Boston Celtics for the most championships of any franchise in the league’s history.
The Nuggets, having come back from 3-1 series deficits twice in the 2020 playoffs, were led by Nikola Jokic (20 points, seven rebounds and five assists) and Jerami Grant (20 points and nine rebounds). Jamal Murray finished with 19 points and eight assists.
The Lakers will take on the winner between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. Miami leads the series 3-2. Game 6 will tip off at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.
— Mitchell White
