National Basketball Association

How The West Was Won

Updated Sep. 27, 2020 3:37 a.m. ET

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After a 10 year drought, the Los Angeles Lakers are headed back to the Finals after defeating the Denver Nuggets 117-107 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

Here are 3 takeaways from this Western Conference finals finale.

1. Elimination game LeBron James is real

This postseason, LeBron James had averaged 32.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the Lakers two elimination games.

He exceeded those numbers in Game 5 against the Nuggets.

James scored 16 points in the first half and then matched that output in the fourth quarter alone to push the Lakers back into the NBA Finals.

For James, this is his ninth NBA Finals appearance in the last 10 years.

This also marked LeBron's fourth triple-double of this postseason and sixth 30-point game.

2. Jamal Murray runs out of gas

There has been no bigger breakout star of the 2020 playoffs than Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets.

He recorded four games of at least 40 points and two of 50 points in this postseason, but in Game 5 he ran out of gas.

Murray scored just 19 points while shooting 7-for-21 from the field for 41.2%.

This was Murray's lowest scoring game of the series, and this was also the first series of the playoffs where he didn't record at least one 40-point game.

He will head into next season with a newfound stardom and respect across the NBA, but for this series, the Lakers were able to somewhat supress him.

3. Looking ahead

The Lakers now await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals.

They are a combined 3-1 against the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics this season, going 2-0 against the Heat and 1-1 against the Celtics.

And either matchup provides storylines galore for the NBA and James.

If the Lakers draw the Heat, James has a chance to secure his fourth championship against the franchise he won his first two rings with.

If it is the Celtics, the Lakers have a chance to win a title against their biggest rival and tie them with an NBA leading 17 championships.

Either outcome sounds like a win-win for NBA fans.

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