LOS ANGELES
(AP) — LeBron James persevered through an injured ankle, a big
first-half deficit and being poked in the eye late in the fourth
quarter to add another highlight to his impressive resume.
James made a
long, go-ahead 3-pointer with 58.2 seconds remaining, rallying the
Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-100 victory over the Golden State
Warriors in a Western Conference play-in tournament game Wednesday
night.
“After the
finger to the eye, I was seeing three rims and shot at the middle
one. By grace, I was able to knock it down,” said James, who
finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his sixth
triple-double of the season. “I’ve been poked in the eye
before.
“It is going
to be sore tonight and tomorrow, but we got a big-time win.”
James was
poked by Draymond Green while driving to the basket with 2:07
remaining. But he made the biggest shot when the defending NBA
champions needed it the most. His 34-foot, 3-pointer over Stephen
Curry as the shot clock was winding down is his longest make of the
season. According to ESPN Stats and Information, it is also the
longest go-ahead shot in the final 3 minutes of any game in his
career.
“He proved
why he is the best player in the world. Just add it to the list of
great plays and accomplishments,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel
said.
Anthony Davis
scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers won
their sixth straight and overcame 37 points from league scoring
champ Curry.
Golden State
had a chance to send it into overtime, but Kent Bazemore had a bad
inbounds pass and sealed the victory for the Lakers — who earned
the seventh seed for the playoffs and a first-round matchup with
second-seeded Phoenix. The series opener is slated for Sunday
afternoon.
“It’s a great
shot,” Curry said of James’ 3. “Broken play ... thinking he was
kind of out of the play, they found him, he got his balance just in
time and knocked it down. That was a tough one because you don’t
really expect it to go in. You expect us to get the rebound and
have a possession to take the lead. But everything changed when it
goes in. All-time great players make great shots, that’s what
happens.”
Golden State
hosts Memphis, which defeated San Antonio in Wednesday’s other
play-in game, for the eighth seed on Friday. The winner of that
game will face top-seeded Utah.
James and
Davis were 3 of 19 from the field in the first half before getting
back on track. They combined to go 14 of 22 in the second half.
“We were very
lackadaisical in the first half. We were playing hesitant because
of the situation. There is a next game, but there is no next game,”
Davis said. “We had to remind ourselves to get going and play our
style of basketball. We had to find our swagger knowing we were the
defending champions.”
Los Angeles
trailed by 13 at halftime and were down by 12 midway through the
third quarter before rallying back. They didn’t get their first
lead until Kyle Kuzma’s layup 56 seconds into the fourth quarter
put them up 81-79.
The final 12
minutes saw three lead changes and five ties. The Warriors were up
98-95 on Curry’s bank shot before the Lakers scored seven of the
game’s final nine points.
“This is a
bitter pill to swallow. This was our game and we couldn’t get it
done,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.
Alex Caruso
scored 14 points and Dennis Schröder added 12.
Andrew
Wiggins added 21 points for Golden State.
TURNING
POINT
Golden State
led 55-42 at halftime as Curry buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Lakers opened the second half by going on a 14-2 run that
included seven points by Schröder.
Schröder’s
3-pointer drew Los Angeles within a point at 57-56, but he fouled
Curry when he attempted a shot beyond the arc.
Curry made
all three of his shots to start a 15-4 spurt by the Warriors.
Curry’s fourth 3-pointer of the night pushed Golden State’s
advantage to 72-60 before the Lakers regained control and ended the
quarter with a 17-7 rally.
“We began to
play defense and then being able to score in transition after
getting stops,” Davis said.
Golden State
had only five turnovers in the first half, but had eight in the
third quarter that resulted in 12 Lakers points.
“We got away
from ourselves. Our turnovers weren’t forced. We made careless
decisions with the ball,” Kerr said.
QUIET START
FOR CURRY
Curry came in
averaging 11.8 points in the first quarter this month, but scored
just five in the opening 12 minutes. Curry didn’t take his first
shot until nearly four minutes into the game when he failed to
connect on a driving layup and didn’t make his first field goal
until a layup with 4:59 remaining.
TIP-INS
Warriors:
Kevon Looney already had his 10th rebound with 8:22 remaining in
the second quarter. He finished with six points and 13 boards.
Lakers: It is
Los Angeles’ 13th double-digit comeback of the season. ... Caruso
kept Los Angeles in it in the first half with 12 points. He made
all five of his shots from the field, including a pair of
3-pointers.
LOOKING
AHEAD
Phoenix took
two of the three regular-season meetings against Los Angeles, but
the Lakers did post a 123-110 victory in the most recent meeting on
May 9.
James said he
is looking forward to his first playoff matchup against Suns guard
and close friend Chris Paul.
“It was good
to get that first playoff punch out of the way. It wasn’t
comfortable, but it settled us,” James said. “We are looking
forward to what is in store.”
QUICK
TURNAROUND
The Warriors
will host the Grizzlies for the second time in six days on Friday.
Golden State won two of the three meetings, including 113-101 at
home last Sunday to wrap up the eighth seed.
“We’ll have
Thursday to prepare for Memphis,” Kerr said. “Everyone is
disappointed, but we will be ready to go.”