James, Lakers tip Pelicans
Williamson has 40 but exits with injury
LeBron James had 23 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds, and the Lakers secured a playoff berth with a 110106 victory over the Pelicans at New Orleans in the Western Conference play-in tournament Tuesday night.
Zion Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA postseason debut. But shortly after tying the game at 95 on a driving layup with 3:19 to go, Williamson went to the locker room, throwing a towel to the floor in disgust as he walked into the tunnel with an apparent injury.
After the game, Pelicans coach Willie Green said Williamson had “left leg soreness.”
“He’s going to have some imaging on it tomorrow and we’ll figure out more,” Green said.
Soon after, James hit a jumper, Anthony Davis dunked Austin Reaves’s alley-oop lob, DeAngelo Russell hit a three and Davis grabbed a crucial offensive rebound, after which he hit two free throws to help the Lakers hold off New Orleans.
Davis had 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Runssedll scored 21, hitting five times from deep.
The Lakers went 14 of 35 from 3point range. The Pelicans hit 9 of 29 from deep.
The Lakers advance to face defending NBA champion Denver in the first round in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, which was swept by the Nuggets. Game 1 is Saturday night.
The Pelicans will take on the winner of the other West play-in game between Golden State and Sacramento on Friday.
Antetokounmpo up in air
The Bucks are gearing up for the postseason uncertain about the health of both of their top two players.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said neither two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo nor seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard practiced on Tuesday. Rivers said he didn’t know whether either would practice all week, but pointed out both could play Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series with the Pacers without practicing beforehand.
Antetokounmpo is recovering from a left calf strain that caused him to miss the Bucks’ final three regularseason games. Antetokounmpo was attempting to run up the court during Milwaukee’s victory over the Celtics on April 9 when he took a seat on the floor and grabbed his left leg, with an MRI revealing he had a strained soleus.
“He’s doing well,” Rivers said. “He’s walking around, looks good. I can say [he’s] farther than we thought he would be, but just not ready yet.”
Rivers wouldn’t speculate on the chances of Antetokounmpo playing Sunday.
“I’m not going to make a decision – first of all, I don’t make the decision – but our medical team is saying they don’t know, so I’m going to wait and see,” Rivers said. “I literally don’t know one way or the other.”
Embiid expected to play
It’s April and the postseason looms for the 76ers, which really only means one thing in Philadelphia: Joel Embiid is dealing with some kind of affliction.
One of the greats in the game, Embiid has accomplished just about all there is to do in the NBA. He’s an MVP. A two-time scoring champion. A seven-time All-Star. This season, Embiid scored 70 points in one game.
Yes, Embiid’s season-accomplishments have made him worthy of max contracts and Olympic teams and all the other spoils that go with blossoming into one of the most must-watch players in the NBA.
But it’s playoff time once more and that’s the season when things get dicey for Embiid. The 7-footer has played through injuries since the day he was drafted and it’s more of the same this season. He tweaked his surgically repaired left knee last week, and while coach Nick Nurse expected his big man to go Wednesday night in the play-in game against Miami, there’s never a guarantee Embiid will be structurally sound enough to withstand a grinding postseason run.
His availability — rather, lack of it — is the most substantial reason the 76ers have failed to advance beyond the second round in the playoffs in his seven full seasons.
Leonard’s status unclear
Kawhi Leonard’s status for the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Mavericks remains murky.
Leonard missed the final eight games of the regular season with right knee inflammation. The Clippers were 4-4 in that stretch, having clinched their first Pacific Division title in 10 years. They earned the fourth seed in the West.
Ex-Celtic Griffin retires
Blake Griffin announced his retirement after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors, and a dunk contest victory. Griffin, 35, also had stints in Brooklyn and Boston. He did not play in the 2023-24 season.