A new champion will be crowned this NBA season.

The Phoenix Suns (+130) eliminated the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers with a 113-100 win in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

The Suns, which were +600 to win the series heading into Game 4 down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, rallied with three straight wins to advance.

It’s the first time that LeBron James has lost a first- round series in his career. He was previously 14-0 all-time in opening round series.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday June 4, 2021.

LeBron, Lakers eliminated from NBA playoffs

The Lakers were the favourite to win the Western Conference heading into the playoffs at +200.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it’s the first time that the favourite to win a conference entering the postseason failed to get out of the first round since 2007.

It’s also the first time in more than a decade that a team led by LeBron has been eliminated by an opponent from the same conference.

The last time that happened was May of 2010, when the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

At the time, Anthony Davis was in high school.

Davis was limited to just five minutes on the floor as he struggled to play through injury in Thursday night’s Game 6 loss. 

LeBron finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes.

Injuries were a theme for this L.A. team all season, and a big reason why LeBron didn’t have home-court advantage in the first round for the first time in his career.

The Lakers were 19-8 in the 27 games that LeBron and Davis played together – 23-22 in the games in which at least one of them didn’t play.

It will be interesting to see where they go from here, with LeBron playing more than 50,000 minutes in his career and Davis coming off another injury-plagued season.

Meanwhile, the Suns advance to play the Denver Nuggets in the second round.

It’s the first playoff series win for Phoenix since 2010.

Devin Booker scored a game-high 47 points on 15-of-22 from the field in Game 6.

Chris Paul, who was playing through an injured shoulder, was limited to eight points on 4-of-12 from the field on Thursday night.

Booker’s efficiency and Paul’s health will be two key components for the Suns against the Nuggets.

The fourth choice to win the Western Conference at the start of the postseason at +800, Phoenix is now +220 to win the West and +800 to win the NBA championship.

Nuggets advance with Game 6 win

Nikola Jokic scored a game-high 36 points as the Nuggets (+175) eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers with a 126-115 win in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Jokic became just the second player ever to average 30 points, 10 rebounds, at least 50 per cent shooting from the field and at least 40 per cent shooting from beyond the arc in a playoff series.

The only other player to do hit those marks over the course of a series was Dirk Nowitzki in 2002.

Denver trailed at the half but rallied over the final two quarters, including outscoring Portland 28-14 in the fourth.

The Nuggets were the fifth choice to win the West at +1300 at the start of the playoffs.

They opened as a +175 series underdog against the Suns.

Three of the four conference semifinal matchups are set.

In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets will meet the Milwaukee Bucks while the Philadelphia 76ers get the Atlanta Hawks.

The Utah Jazz will face the winner of the Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.

Henderson the live favourite at US Women’s Open

Brooke Henderson is the live favourite to win the US Women’s Open at +550.

Henderson shot a three-under 68 in the opening round and is currently tied for third.

She’s one stroke back of the current co-leaders Mel Reid and Megha Ganne entering the second round.

Henderson has 10 top-10 finishes at women’s majors dating back to 2015 – the fourth-most on the LPGA Tour over that span.

All eyes will be on Henderson to see if she can add another major trophy to her resume this weekend.

Hurricanes, Bruins win in OT

The Carolina Hurricanes (+130) avoided a 3-0 series deficit with a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Thursday night.

Jordan Staal scored his second OT winner of these playoffs six minutes into the extra frame.

Sebastian Aho finished with three points, including an assist on Staal’s winner.

The Hurricanes improved to 3-0 on the puck line in the series.

Carolina has played seven straight one-goal games dating back to its first-round series with the Nashville Predators.

Trailing 2-1 in the series, the Hurricanes are now +235 to win the best-of-seven – Tampa Bay is -305.

Meanwhile, Brad Marchand scored the OT winner for the Boston Bruins (-150) in a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Islanders had won each of their first three games in these playoffs that required overtime before falling short on Thursday night.

Teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-7 NHL series are 366-156 (.655) all-time. 

Boston is now -590 to win the series – the Islanders are +380.