The champion has fallen. Despite 32 points from Stephen Curry, the defending Golden State Warriors lost on the night of Friday to Saturday in Game 6 of their play-off series against the Los Angeles Lakers (122-101). A historic setback for the Warriors since under the orders of Steve Kerr, in office since the 2014-2015 season, Golden State had never experienced elimination in the play-offs on the road to the final.
An extraordinary regularity undermined by a man, LeBron James (30 pts at 10/14, 9 assists, 9 rebounds), leader of an untenable pack since the start of the play-offs. In his wake, Anthony Davis (17 pts, 20 rebounds), D’Angelo Russell (19 pts) and the revelation Austin Reaves (23 pts) made sure to settle the story without going through an unbreathable game 7.
Yet not irresistible (11/28 to shoot), Stephen Curry was the only one to maintain a slim hope for the defending champions, lagging behind from the start of the match. Klay Thompson, transparent (8 pts at 3/19), illustrated the slow fall of his team, absent in attack and too fragile defensively. An offering for the Lakers.
On the brink a few weeks ago, painful seventh in the regular season and forced to go through the play-in, Los Angeles now seems unstoppable, with the Memphis Grizzlies (4-2) and the defending champion on his scoreboard. chase. Sacred in 2020, the Lakers will find the Denver Nuggets of Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference final, with a first match on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
2023-05-13 16:02:17
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