Maybe this whole play-in tournament thing isn’t so bad, after all.
LeBron James hit a 34-foot three-pointer with the shot clock expiring and about 58 seconds to play to put his Los Angeles Lakers up three against the Golden State Warriors and his team managed to survive to officially clinch the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 103-100 win Wednesday night.
The defending NBA champions will see the No. 2 Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
The marquee game of the NBA’s play-in tournament with the headline of two former MVPs and champions, James and Stephen Curry, battling each other with a shot at the playoffs on the line, the contest didn’t disappoint and proved to be a great capper on what has been a very entertaining couple days of play-in basketball action.
Outside of the Indiana Pacers–Charlotte Hornets game, each game so far during the play-in tournament has been a treat to watch.
From Jayson Tatum exploding for 50 points to help his Boston Celtics capture the No. 7 seed in the East, to a nail-biter of a game earlier on Wednesday between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs that saw Jonas Valanciunas dominate with a 23-point, 23-rebound performance and Canadian Dillon Brooks put the clams on Spurs star DeMar DeRozan to help Memphis advance to the No. 8 seed game in the West, the play-in tournament had already delivered on its promise of exciting games and big-time performances that one-and-done situations encourage.
And then, late Wednesday night, the ball tipped between the Lakers and Warriors and the drama hit a new level.
The stars on both sides came to play as James started slow but ultimately finished with a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis had himself a 25-point, 12-rebound night for Los Angeles.
And for the Warriors, Curry damn-well nearly won Wednesday’s game himself as he erupted for 37 points on 12-for-23 shooting, including a 6-of-9 mark from deep. Additionally, Canadian Andrew Wiggins had himself a game, scoring 21 points on 10-for-18 shooting and Jordan Poole formally introduced himself to a national audience with some clutch shot-making and one of the best near-dunks you’ll ever see.
Despite the loss, the Warriors aren’t out of it yet. They’ll see the Grizzlies in a true do-or-die game Friday for the No. 8 seed.
It’s been well publicized how much James has appeared to dislike the concept of this play-in tournament, criticizing it at the beginning of the month, saying whoever created the event “needs to be fired,” but even if it’s not exactly fun for him as a player to go through it, after seeing the level of play that’s come out of the play-in tournament thus far, from a fan’s perspective, how can you argue against it?
The play-in tournament has been fantastic thus far, and whoever came up with idea should likely be given a promotion and a raise.
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