The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 98:78 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs away from home and are still injury-free Luke Dončić after taking a 3-0 lead in the third attempt with a 4-2 victory to secure the Western Conference semifinals against rivals Oklahoma, the reigning NBA champions.
LeBron James led the Lakers in style to the Western Conference semifinals, where they face defending champion Oklahoma City. PHOTO: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images Via AFP
The star LeBron James took the burden of the absent Slovenian ace Dončić and was the best scorer of the match with 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and at the age of 41, he continued his excellent performances to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The win spared the Lakers an unexpected bye, and a loss would have put them one game away from becoming the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 lead.
“A lot of our guys, to be honest, weren’t in that position, they weren’t in a situation where they could come into the second half like that. Besides, this was on the road. So it was very important for me to go and set the tone for the game,” explained the veteran James.
And certainly James knows what I mean by serving, because he and his teams have won as many as 22 series after decisive victories on the road, with this he is now alone at the top of the league all-time and has overtaken Derek Fisher and Tim Duncan.
The injured Luka Dončić was also looking forward to the promotion. PHOTO: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images Via AFP
The latter was not in the Rockets’ lineup again this time, as the knee injury was followed by ankle problems. At home, she proved herself in threes, Amen Thompson (18 points, 8 rebounds), Alperen Sengun (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Tara Eason (14 points, 5 rebounds).
In addition to James, they had a significant share in the ranks of the winners Rui Hachimura (21 points, five triples, six rebounds) and Austin Reaves (15 points, three rebounds and blocks each).
The first game of the second round against Oklahoma awaits the Lakers on Friday night Slovenian time.
Orlando and Toronto forced a seventh game
In the Eastern part, after the remaining two games of the evening, the results in victories are tied at 3:3, as Orlando beat Detroit at home with 93:79, and Toronto was better than Cleveland in overtime with 112:110. The winners thus “survived” and forced the decisive seventh game.
Orlando led by as many as 24 points before their shooting suddenly came to a complete halt, which the visitors took full advantage of. The hosts missed 23 straight field goals, the longest streak in playoff history, and managed just one point in more than 10 minutes.
RJ Barrett made a miraculous 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left for Toronto’s third win. PHOTO: Cole Burston/Getty Images Via AFP
Toronto led at home for most of the evening before their rivals came back in the final quarter to set up an exciting finish. In overtime, Cleveland took over and led by a point until the final few seconds. Three-point shot RJ Barrett then bounced first off the hoop into the air and then the ball went through the hoop to seal the win for Toronto.
“Thank God, man. I didn’t do anything in the last quarter and overtime, I played poorly. Then I managed to hit that shot,” said the lucky hero Barrett.
