LOS ANGELES — The defending champions Golden State Warriors have been dethroned.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis provided the 1-2 punch that sent Steph Curry and company home on Friday night (Saturday AM in Manila) after the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 122-101 victory to close out the series 4-2.
James flirted with a triple-double with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists while Davis had 17 and 20 rebounds.
After watching their 17-point deficit meltdown to four in the first half, the Lakers blew the game wide open with a blistering run that gave them a 99-80 advantage at the 9:06 mark of the fourth quarter.
Each time the Warriors tried to catch up, the Lakers came back in waves.
Austin Reaves finished with 23 points and six assists. DeAngelo Russell chipped in 19 while Lonnie Walker IV and Rui Hachimura combined for 22 off the bench for the Lakers, who shot 52 percent from the field (39-of-75) and 50.6 percent from three-point distance (13-of-26).
“It was great to play one of our most efficient games, one of the best games of the series, and it started because of the defensive match-up we had. We defended at a high level and when we do that, we can be extremely good. I thought we were locked in for as close as 48 minutes as possible tonight,” James said at his post-game press conference.
“It’s special to get that win, to beat a team that’s so established and so good,” Reaves added.
Steph Curry, leading the charge with 32 points, tried to rally the Warriors one last time. But he just didn’t have enough help as Klay Thompson continued to struggle, this time scoring 8 points on 3-for-12 shooting including a horrendous 2-of-12 from 3.
Donta DiVincenzo manufactured 16 points but Andrew Wiggins, playing with a sore rib, went 0-for-3 from the field for six points.
“The better team won and I can’t fault our players for the effort,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, said.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 32.
