Lebron James' Dagger Three Locks Lakers in West 7th Seed, Posts Triple-Double Against Steph Curry's Warriors
A buzzer-beater three from LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to victory in their match against the Golden State Warriors, 103-100.
This paved the way for the Lakers to secure a playoff matchup against the Phoenix Suns, leaving the GSW hanging in the Play-In tournament.
LeBron James imposed his will and dominance in the latter period of the game, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, to secure the 7th spot in the Western Conference. LeBron also secured a win against his old rival Stephen Curry.
According to ESPN, LeBron James shared in his post-game interview that he loves his team; that is why he is doing his best to put it in a better position. LeBron also emphasized that he loves to compete.
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1st Quarter
The Golden State Warriors started the game with hot shooting, making four of their initial five attempts, which gave them an early eight-point lead. The hot start from warriors pushed Lakers coach Frank Vogel to call a time after being down, 12-4.
But the guards of the Lakers came back strong after the timeout and drained triples, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope making his first two shots beyond the arc. Alex Caruso also attacked the Warriors' defense to close the gap within a single point.
With two minutes remaining left in the first quarter, Draymond Green got an early technical foul after continuously arguing with the referee. However, it did not stop the momentum of the Warriors as Curry finished the quarter with an and-one, widening the gap, 28-22.
2nd Quarter
Despite the efforts of Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell to close in the gap, Steph Curry started to heat up, launching his long bombs. Curry also dropped a buzzer-beater triple to extend the lead into double digits, 55-42.
3rd Quarter
However, at the start of the second half, LeBron James initiated the offense for the Purple and Gold squad, cutting the Warriors' lead to only a single point. But Green maintained his aggressiveness in the game and even had three blocks with only two minutes remaining in the third period.
LeBron managed to push some dimes to his teammates like Kyle Kuzma, but Curry refused to give the lead and made another triple to remain on the upper hand, 79-77.
4th Quarter
When the final period started, LeBron made his presence felt right away. The King dominated and gave the LA Lakers a quick six-point lead. The Lakers managed to make a 19-point turnaround.
Moreover, a drive from Warriors' Juan Tuscano-Anderson was called by the referee as a charging move, prompting GSW coach Steve Kerr to challenge the play and ended up successful, which gave them a chance to cut the lead to five.
The Warriors tried to make some offensive plays in the middle of the fourth, but veteran Wesley Matthews positioned himself, which resulted in an offensive foul and additional possession for the Lakers.
With minutes left in the final period, the Lakers tried to orchestrate a sensational passing for LeBron James to go for the basket, but Draymond Green fouled him in mid-air, hitting him in the face. Commentators even said that Green was not going for the ball in that play, but game officials called it a regular foul.
When the game was tied at a 100, with under a minute left in the game, LeBron drained the buzzer-beater long shot, which gave them the upper hand in the game, 103-100, CBS Sports reported.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr managed to call a timeout for his team with 2.1 seconds remaining, but during the entry pass, Anthony Davis tapped the ball as the clock expired.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be facing the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Playoffs. When asked about playing against his friend, Chris Paul, James said that CP3 played an MVP caliber year, and they deserve to have the home-court advantage because of their year-long effort to get it.
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