The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 106–93 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday to win their 17th franchise championship. Led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers dominated the Heat on both sides of the ball. James, who has played in the league for 17 years, scored 28 points on 13-for-20 shooting and made 14 rebounds and 10 assists to get his28th playoff triple-double. Davis scored 19 points, and had 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and played for 35 minutes.
Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green contributed a lot to this Game 6 win. Rondo scored 19 points, Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points and Green scored 11 points, combining for 47 of the Lakers’ 106 points. Since the beginning of the season, these role players have been dedicated to winning a championship and doing everything it takes to win. Dwight Howard, playing his 15th year in the league, finally won his first NBA title. Howard was on his way to the Hall of Fame even without winning a title, but finally achieving the highly coveted championship ring puts a bow on Howard's decorated career.
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player that performs the best in the NBA Finals. For the 2019–20 season, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, awarded James with the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award. This is James’ fourth championship and fourth Finals MVP. He is the first player to have won a Finals MVP with three different franchises: the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and now the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Davis played for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2012 to 2019. He then requested a trade in the 2018–19 season to join a team determined to win a title. Davis won his first NBA title with the Lakers and was a big part of their success; he finished the seriesaveraging 25.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Although it does not show up in the box score, he was a force to reckon with on the defensive end, too. Davisdedicated this title win to the late Kobe Bryant.
"Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do was do it for him ... He was a big brother to all of us," Davis said.
The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the NBA Finals, was presented to the Lakers on Sunday, following their grueling battle against the gritty Heat team led by Jimmy Butler. The Lakers players, coaching staff and managing board took pictures with their well-deserved trophy and celebrated thereafter in the locker room.
As champagne was popped in the Lakers locker room, the Heat’s championship dreams were crushed for the 2019–20 season. Butler was a great leader for the Heat and managed to bring the team to the finals against all odds, but unfortunately they lost to the powerful Lakers. The competition in the Orlando Bubble was extremely fierce and mentally taxing for the players and coaching staff.
"I can just say that I've never won with this atmosphere. None of us have,"James said. "We've never been a part of this. This is right up there with one of the greatest accomplishments I've had."
