By Gustavo Castilho
Led by Lebron James, the franchise equals the record of their biggest rival.
The city of Los Angeles is celebrating after a decade of waiting. Since 2010, the Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant at the time, had not won the title. Now the team shares the top of the list along with the Boston Celtics as the teams with most wins at the tournament, both with 17 achievements. They are far ahead of the runners-up Golden States Warriors and Chicago Bulls, with 6 titles each. The 106 x 93 victory over Miami, closing the series in 4×2, also served to crown the legend Lebron James. In addition to being the higher scorer of the match with a 28 points triple-double, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, the star also became the player with the most playoff matches and was elected the MVP of the finals for the fourth time in his career (Miami Heat 2012 and 2013, Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 and Los Angeles Lakers 2020). The title was dedicated to the memory of icon and idol Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant, who passed away in January of this year, due to a helicopter crash.
Match six once again featured a great performance from the duo Lebron James and Anthony Davis. While the former was sovereign in the attack, Davis dominated defense. Frank Vogel decided to change the strategy for game 6. He removed Dwight from the starting lineup and put Alex Caruso, which was pivotal to the dynamism of the Lakers’ game, with a lethal transition between defense and attack. At a certain point, the game configured the biggest difference in score in the series, exceeding 30 points.
On the other hand, an uninspired, Miami played the worst game in the series. With Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, well below what was expected, the team did very little. Goran Dragic’s return, out of all the final games, was of no help. The top scorer for the Florida team was Bam Adebayo with 25 points. Despite the defeat, the Heat’s brilliant campaign was one of the highlights of the season that has just ended.
Match Highlights
Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James – 28 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal
Anthony Davis – 19 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks
Rajon Rondo – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal
K. Caldwell-Pope – 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Danny Green – 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo – 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block
Jimmy Butler – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 block
Jae Crowder – 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal
Duncan Robinson – 10 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists
