James has his eye on the play-offs
Despite blurred vision, Lakers ace sinks long shot to lead champs past battling Warriors
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LeBron James showing the mark of greatness with a 34-foot basket as the shot clock winds down to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the Golden State Warriors at the Staples Centre on Wednesday. The 103-100 win set up a first-round play-off against the Phoenix Suns starting on Sunday.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
LOS ANGELES • The Phoenix Suns finished not only as the second-seeded team in the Western Conference but also the second-best team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) this season.
However, for the first time in over 30 years, the No. 7 seeds in the West are being favoured by bookmakers over the No. 2 seeds, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
When the seventh seeds are the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers, who also happen to be the defending NBA champions, that is not particularly surprising.
The Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) showed on Wednesday why his team cannot be written off, as long as he is on the court.
The forward overcame blurred vision to score a 34-foot three-pointer with under a minute left as the Lakers rallied from a first-half deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 103-100 for a play-off berth and set up a first-round clash with the Suns starting on Sunday.
James, who said he could only see out of one eye, hit the game winner in dramatic fashion as the desperate pass came over the top of Warriors star and this season's league scoring champion Stephen Curry, who had a game-high 37 points, with the shot clock expiring.
Moments before the desperate heave, James had been fouled hard by Warriors forward Draymond Green while he drove to the basket.
The 36-year-old revealed he got poked in the eye, but the four-time league MVP showed he is better with one eye than most players in the league with two.
"After Draymond fingered me in the eye I was literally seeing three rims. I just shot for the middle one," said James, who had a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Not only was the four-time NBA champions' clutch three-pointer against Golden State his longest basket of the season, but according to ESPN, it was also the longest go-ahead shot in the final three minutes of any game in his career.
Curry admitted it was a "tough one" to take, saying: "It was a great shot. That was a tough one because you don't really expect it to go in... Everything changes when it goes in.
"All-time great players make great shots. That's what happens."
It was a tale of two halves for the Lakers, who were down 28-22 at the end of the first quarter and 55-42 at half-time, before outscoring the Warriors 35-24 in the third quarter and then making better plays down the stretch in the fourth.
With Los Angeles into the play-offs and looking a healthier, more cohesive unit, James warned rival teams not to underestimate them.
"We're looking forward to what's going to be in store for the post-season," he said. "And we got one post-season game under our belt. Look forward to the next ones."
The Warriors will get another chance to get into the main play-off draw, but they must beat the Memphis Grizzlies today.
The Grizzlies earned the right to face the Warriors next after beating the 10th-seeded San Antonio Spurs 100-96 on Wednesday.
Jonas Valanciunas finished with 23 points and 23 rebounds for the hosts in front of a pandemic-limited crowd of 7,019 in Memphis.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
