Miami Heat's Bid For a Championship Ends With Loss to Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6

A memorable Miami Heat season ends with loss to Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of NBA Finals

The Miami Heat's magical run in the NBA playoffs has finally ended.

The Heat lost 106-93 to the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday in Game 6 of the Finals. The Lakers won the best-of-seven series 4-2, capturing their first championship since 2010.

The Heat, who staved off elimination behind Jimmy Butler's triple-double in Game 5, were no match for LeBron James. He finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, his 11th triple-double in Finals history.

The Lakers took control in the second quarter after outscoring the Heat 36-16. Even with the return of guard Goran Dragic late in the first quarter, the Heat could not recover. Dragic had been out since Game 1 because of a foot injury.

Still, the Heat can consider the season a success. They entered as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the sixth Finals in franchise history. Forward Jimmy Butler, who was acquired in a trade last summer, finished with 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers title comes almost nine months after the death of legend Kobe Bryant, who played in Los Angeles for 20 seasons. Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were among those killed in a helicopter crash in January.

This is the Heat's first Finals loss since 2014 against the San Antonio Spurs, the last year James was in Miami before returning to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here