The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-107 in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on Saturday, keeping the "Nuggets Miracle" from happening again and making the NBA Finals for the first time in 10 years.

The last time the purple and gold were in the Finals, Kobe Bryant led them to win their 16th title in franchise history. May the greatest Laker rest in peace.

"Every time you put on Purple and Gold, you think about his legacy, you think about him and what he meant to this franchise for 20-plus years and what he stood for both on the floor and off the floor. What he demanded out of his teammates, what he demanded out of himself. We have some similarities in that sense," said James.

"Our games are different. But as far as our mindset and our drive to want to be the best, and our drive to not lose... just that drive to always want to be victorious. It stops you from sleeping."

We were looking at a typical "full-power" James in Game 5, not just for the triple-double of 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. In the first half, James aimed for the rim from the beginning. Instead of dribbling the ball and scanning the court first, James chose to charge against the Nuggets' paint fast in every possession, leaving the opponents no time to close in. Moreover, while he dropped 16 points in the first two quarters, James only took one attempt out of the paint – he did not shoot well in the middle- and long-range in most of the time of this series.

The extra intensity invested by the Nuggets in the third quarter once made people believe that they were able to claim another comeback victory, which they did so many times in the playoffs this year. James made sure that did not happen with 16 points in the last quarter. He scored nine straight points for the Lakers in the last four minutes, all via jumpers: a step-back shot, a turnaround fadeaway jumper, a pull-up shot, and a 3-pointer in the end. His performance reminded you of what he did in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in 2016.

James will play the 10th NBA Finals in his career against either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics.

Of course, the almost-36-year-old was not then the only hero for the Lakers on Saturday night. Anthony Davis, who appeared on the floor carrying a sprained ankle, contributed 27 points, five rebounds, two triples (both in the second half), nine free throws, and two steals. James shouldered part of his offensive responsibility, and Davis saved more energy for his defense.

There's another one the purple and gold should praise, and he was Dwight Howard. Putting down nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 35 minutes did not sound very incredible, but Howard managed wear Nikola Jokic out with his persisting physical contact and little tricks from time to time. Thanks to Howard's work, Jokic only played 29 minutes in the win-or-go-home game with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Despite the loss, the Nuggets have done way better than most had expected after coming back from a 3-1 trail twice. Both Jokic and Jamal Murray have shown the ability to dominate a series. Even the Lakers did not have a decent solution to the screen plays between the two. However, both them and the Nuggets have a few things to work on before they can get closer to the championship.

Jokic is already mature enough with his offensive skills – there's rarely anything he cannot do in that division. The next step for him was to learn how to remain calm when his defender made an unorthodox move on him, like Howard. Joker's performance was very emotion-oriented, he needed to learn how to make it work for him, not against him.

As for Murray, he must enrich his arsenal. When he's hot, Murray was as unstoppable as some of the greatest scorers in league history. Nonetheless, when his jumpers would not fall, Murray could easily fall into difficulty offensively. For example, in Saturday's game, the Lakers chose to trap him outside the 3-point line, forcing Murray to give the ball to his teammates to make a play. Murray was not shooting well, and for a long time, he could not find Jokic to make screen play – Jokic was sitting on the bench because of foul trouble. Murray will no doubt make the All-Star Game next season, but he needs a killer move to become a downright superstar.

"What more could you ask for? You'd be hard pressed to find a better story. I think this series was a hell of a lot closer than the 4-1 would indicate," said Michael Malone, head coach of the Nuggets after the game. He was not wrong and, considering that the Jokic-Murray pair is still so young, Malone's team have good reasons to eye bigger for the future.