For those who hoped that the Miami Heat would win Game 6 and force a dramatic game 7 with the Lakers, they wished on the stars with extreme belief, yet in themselves, they knew they were only delaying the inevitable.
The Lakers may have lost Game 3 and Game 5, but they knew that if they won Game 6, the job would be done. And they did exactly that. Miami Heat was coming into the finals as the underdogs. They had eliminated Milwaukee Bucks and won the East against a Celtics side that many believed would be the Champions.
They had held their own against a Lakers’ side after many had called a sweep in the finals. LeBron James and Anthony Davies were on fire, and it didn’t look like any team had a solution to stopping the duo, especially the latter.
Game 1 and 2 came and swiftly passed, with the Lakers boasting a 2 – 0 lead in the series. The calls for a sweep were louder. But the Miami Heat hadn’t been chosen as the one in this playoff campaign.
Not in any of their series. But here they were, Jimmy Butler & all, leading the lines and playing for the pride of Miami. They took Game 3, and lost Game 4, only to win Game 5.
Winning game 6 would force a Game 7, and if they lost there, they would have laid it all on the court. But the Lakers proved too strong, and the task was herculean as Los Angeles opened a 30 point gap as the game wore on, a gap the Heat could never recover from.
1 minute till the final buzzer and both teams knew the results. The Lakers knew they were already champions, they just needed to hold it in, respecting their opponents who had done their best.
LeBron James took his 4th MVP in a final and has now taken a ring with 3 different sides. The first one to do it at that. The playoffs this year may not have even happened owing to all that has happened this year. But it did, and it was full of shocks, surprises, and memories.
