[Sport]LeBron James returns the Lakers to the West Finals a decade later

[SougarLord]

 

 

The victory in the fifth game against Houston (119-96) opened the doors to the West final for the Lakers, who ended a 10-year streak without reaching the last round of their Conference. "This is the reason why I wanted to be part of this franchise, to return them to the place they were used to," said LeBron James, author of 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

 

A decade has passed since that triumphal course in 2010, when the team led by Phil Jackson won the title thanks to the leadership of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. "It is an honor to wear purple and gold. We are just trying to continue the legacy of this team," added James, well seconded this time by Kyle Kuzma (17 points), Markieff Morris (16), Danny Green (14) and Anthony Davis ( 13).

 

The 33-11 quarter with which the first quarter closed weighed too much on the Rockets, who entrusted the reaction to the success of James Harden (30 points). Despite the efforts of the guard and a partial 2-17, the Californians sentenced just after the break with a 15-0 impossible to recover for Mike D'Antoni's men.

 

HARDEN: "IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING"

Texas despair took shape in Russell Westbrook, author of 10 points, who ended up arguing loudly with the brother of Rajon Rondo, a Lakers point guard, present in one of the stands at Disney World. Westbrook's three missed triples tainted his team's perimeter stat -13 out of 49 on triples (26.5%) - far lower than his inspired rival -19 out of 37 (51.4%).

 

"It's very frustrating. Especially because of the amount of individual work I put in, but I have to keep going until I can't do it anymore," admitted Harden, the league's top scorer, with 34.3 points. "You have to try to put the right pieces around Russ (Westbrook) and me to lead us to where we want," stressed the southpaw.

 

The next opponent for the Lakers in the West will come out of the tie that is still being elucidated by the Clippers and Nuggets. At the moment, the Los Angeles team dominates the series 3-2.