Lakers to face Nuggets, Kings oust Warriors
LOS ANGELES: LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a furious late rally to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110106 on Tuesday and book a firstround NBA playoff clash with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Four-time NBA champion James scored 23 points with nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals to lead the Lakers in the play-in game victory that secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans, rocked by a late injury to star forward Zion Williamson, will have another chance to advance on Friday when they take on the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings ended the Golden State Warriors’ playoff aspirations with a resounding 11894 victory in the second Western Conference play-in game.
At 39, James is in the playoffs for the 17th time in 21 seasons. He’ll get another shot at Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals on their way to the title last season.
“We understood after how we had played the last game that they were going to give us everything they had – the whole kitchen sink and the toolbox – and they did that,” said James.
“So it was a gritty win for us and we punched our ticket to the post-season.”
The Lakers will open their bestof-seven series against secondseeded Denver on Saturday.
“We like where we are, we like where the spirit of our group is,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
“Everybody is excited about this challenge.”
Pelicans coach Willie Green said Williamson, who also had 11 rebounds and five assists, left the game with “left leg soreness.”
“He’s going to get some imaging tomorrow and we’ll figure out more,” Green said.
The 23-year-old power forward, whose career has been hindered by injuries, remains in search of his first playoff appearance since he entered the league as the top pick in the 2019 draft.
His status will be key against a Kings team riding high after their blowout victory over the Warriors and Stephen Curry.
“It was total domination,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted.
“The offensive rebounds early in the game set a tone. They didn’t let us get into our offence.”
Golden State surrendered 15 offensive rebounds and coughed up 16 turnovers in the face of the Kings’ energetic defence as Sacramento eased the memory of their heartbreaking loss to the Warriors in game seven of their first-round series last season. — AFP