Davide Barco
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It was a perfect moment for an imperfect season.
Anthony Davis rose for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 2 of the N.B.A.’s Western Conference finals. He sank the shot, shouted “Kobe!” and ran into the arms of his elated Los Angeles Lakers teammates.
So much seemed packed into that seconds-long sequence. A team that had launched its championship chase amid a geopolitical storm in China. A game-winning shot in an empty arena, the slogan “Black Lives Matter” on the court. And a tribute to Kobe Bryant, the iconic Lakers star whose death in a helicopter crash in January rocked the league.