LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and their teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers seem more formidable in the playoffs now compared to a few weeks ago.
The New Orleans Pelicans, on the other hand, are facing elimination and are concerned about Zion Williamson’s health. Williamson, their star power forward, had an impressive NBA playoff debut, but it was cut short by an injury in the final minutes of a close game.
James scored 23 points, dished out nine assists, and grabbed nine rebounds as the Lakers secured a spot in the playoffs with a 110-106 win over the Pelicans in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
“We showed what we can do both on offense and defense tonight,” said James. The Lakers head into the playoffs with momentum, having won 12 of their last 15 games.
Williamson had an outstanding performance with 40 points and 11 rebounds. However, shortly after tying the game at 95 points with a layup, he left the court with an apparent injury, visibly frustrated.
After the game, Pelicans coach Willie Green mentioned that Williamson was experiencing “left leg soreness.” “He’s going to have some imaging done tomorrow, and then we’ll know more,” Green said.
Shortly after Williamson left the game, James made a jumper, Davis dunked an alley-oop lob from Austin Reaves, DeAngelo Russell hit a 3-pointer, and Davis grabbed a crucial offensive rebound. He then made two free throws, helping the Lakers secure the win.
The Lakers faced tough competition from the Pelicans, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham. “They kept fighting back,” he said. “It showed a lot about our team and our resilience.”
Davis ended the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Russell scored 21 points, hitting five 3-pointers. James was perfect from the free-throw line, making all 10 of his attempts, and Davis made 8 of 10.
The Lakers will now face the defending champions, Denver, in the first round of the playoffs. This is a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, which the Nuggets swept. The first game will be on Saturday night.
The Pelicans will play against Sacramento on Friday, with the winner earning the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Kings eliminated Golden State in the later play-in game on Wednesday night.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” said Green. The Pelicans had the opportunity to secure the sixth seed in the playoffs on Sunday but lost to the Lakers at home, setting up the rematch in the play-in tournament.
“We’ll have to process this loss tonight and then regroup and prepare for the next game,” Green added, praising Williamson for his fantastic performance.
“He got into the rhythm of the game. He just kept attacking. He found openings. He grabbed rebounds. He played with speed,” Green added. “(If) we had him for a bit longer, maybe we could have turned things around.”
The Lakers made 14 out of 35 shots from 3-point range. The Pelicans made 9 out of 29 shots from beyond the arc, and Williamson didn’t receive much support from the usual high-scoring players on the team.
Brandon Ingram, who returned for his second game after a 12-game absence due to a knee injury, struggled, missing 8 out of 12 shots and finishing with 11 points before sitting out the final minutes.
“I preferred the lineup on the court at that time,” Green explained. “BI is still getting back, still finding his groove. So, I didn’t want to push it.” CJ McCollum also had a tough night, missing 11 out of 15 shots and scoring nine points.
Trey Murphy III contributed 12 points, making two 3-pointers from beyond 28 feet in the second half, helping the Pelicans come back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game.
The Lakers were leading 75-57 after Rui Hachimura’s layup in the third quarter. However, the Pelicans fought back, outscoring the Lakers 19-8 in the final 5:31 of the period.
Williamson ignited the comeback with two layups. Murphy made a 31-foot 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter, and Williamson’s free throw narrowed the gap to 83-76 by the end of the period.
The Pelicans finally tied the game when Williamson made an alley-oop slam from Jose Alvarado to make it 93-all with 3:53 left.
Seeking redemption for their previous loss to the Lakers, the Pelicans had a strong start and took a 34-28 lead in the first quarter after Herb Jones’ 3-pointer.
However, the Lakers surged ahead, outscoring the Pelicans 34-16 in the second quarter and leading by as many as 14 points after James made two free throws to make it 58-44.
In the final seconds of the half, Williamson dashed nearly the length of the court and made a floating layup at the buzzer, bringing the score to 60-50.
