Download
NBA highlights on May 12: Lakers continue to advance as 'underdog'
Li Xiang
LeBron James (#6) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinanls against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP
LeBron James (#6) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinanls against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

LeBron James (#6) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinanls against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 122-101 in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the West Finals.

The Lakers replaced Jarred Vanderbilt with Dennis Schroder in their starting lineup, further enhancing their defense of Stephen Curry. In this way, the team had four of their five starters – Schroder, Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Anthony Davis – able to switch to guard Curry without overhelping from teammates.

Such defensive arrangements worked despite that Schroder was ejected with two technical fouls in the third quarter. Though Curry dropped court-high 32 points, he only made seven of his 22 jumpers, including going 4-for-14 from downtown. He had to battle physical contact while doing offensive work on most possessions. He only had a short window to shoot after the teammate set a pick, meaning many of his shots were contested.

Austin Reaves (#15) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP
Austin Reaves (#15) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Austin Reaves (#15) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Moreover, Donte DiVincenzo was Curry's only teammate who reached double-digit points (16). Only he and Moses Moody could be trusted at the 3-point line where they combined to go 6-for-11. By contrast, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole missed 16 of their 18 triple attempts.

As a result, the Lakers' defenders were increasingly encouraged to close in and stay ready to deflect the Warriors' ball movement, making it more and more difficult for the opponents to set up easy shots, either from the inside and the outside. Despite the Warriors' huge lead in offensive rebounds (20-6), they only made seven of their second-chance attempts.

Offensively, LeBron James again showed his amazing control of the game pace. Having played over 43 minutes in Friday's game, he had team-high 30 points plus nine rebounds and nine assists. He started to attack the paint from the beginning, going 8-for-9 there. Not only did he keep target the Warriors' defensive weak links during half-court offense, James never hesitated to speed up when he saw an opportunity in transition, via both launching fast break himself and throwing like a quarterback to a teammate to rush to the front court.

Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP
Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Anthony Davis (#3) of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Reaves was the second-best-performing Laker on Friday night. Not only did he go 4-for-5 behind the arc, he kept punishing the Warriors' defense off the dribble from the weak side. He drew six fouls, only fewer than James and Davis on the roster. Furthermore, the logo shot he made at the end of the second quarter not only enabled the purple and gold to enter the second half with a double-digit point lead (56-46), it was also a heavy blow to the opponents' mental strength.

The Lakers will meet the Denver Nuggets, the same opponents they played in the same series three years ago, in the West Finals. Game 1 will happen at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on May 15.

Jimmy Butler (C) of the  Miami Heat dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP
Jimmy Butler (C) of the Miami Heat dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Jimmy Butler (C) of the Miami Heat dunks in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Jimmy Butler takes Heat to East Finals for third time in four years

The Miami Heat defeated the New York Knicks 86-92 in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Friday, winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the East Finals. They will play the winner between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

The Heat shot only 40.2 percent from the field. Only two on their nine-play rotations reached 50 percent of field goal (FG) rate, but Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love took no more than seven shots collectively. Jimmy Butler generated most of his offensive work via 10 free throws and five jumpers, all from one side of the court. He forced a key turnover by Jalen Brunson when there were only 18 seconds left in the final quarter, not only shutting down the Knicks' final rally, but also extending the Heat's lead from two (92-90) to four points (94-90).

Bam Adebayo matched his highest points of 23 in the playoffs this season. He missed five layups, but still scored 14 points in the paint, more than anyone else in Friday's game. Moreover, he played a significant role in the Heat's zone defense that limited the opponents to shooting 10-for-20 in the paint.

Jalen Brunson (#11) of the New York Knicks drives toward the rim in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP
Jalen Brunson (#11) of the New York Knicks drives toward the rim in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP

Jalen Brunson (#11) of the New York Knicks drives toward the rim in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, May 12, 2023. /CFP

The Knicks shot better (10-for-35) than the Heat (7-for-27) at the 3-point line, but not good enough to make up for their loss of being shut down out of the paint. Half of those triples came from Brunson, who matched his postseason career high with 41 points. Considering that he also delivered three assists, over half of the team's offensive production was contributed by Brunson.

Brunson's remarkable performance only reflected how unreliable his teammates, namely RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, were on the offensive end. The two combined to go 4-for-24 from the field to get only 26 points. In the five games he played for the Knicks in this series, Randle averaged 27.3 percent from the field per game.

Search Trends