The Lakers and Warriors matchup was the highest anticipated NBA play-in tournament game of the week — and, quite likely, will hold that title for years to come — and it lived up to the hype. Stephen Curry had 37 for the Warriors and, after a slow start, LeBron James and Anthony Davis came alive to lead a 13-point second half comeback and give the Lakers a 103-100 win en route to the 7-seed.
The game-winning shot came with a minute to play and the shot clock winding down for the Lakers, as the ball got kicked back out to James 30-plus feet from the basket where he drilled the go-ahead bucket over Curry.
KING JAMES WINS IT FOR THE LAKERS… propelling them to the #NBAPlayoffs!@Lakers will be the West #7 seed in the #NBAPlayoffs and face #2 PHX in the First Round (Game 1 Sunday, 3:30pm/et on ABC) pic.twitter.com/x2llcbk7ZX
— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2021
Just a few minutes prior to that shot, James got poked in the eye by Draymond Green on a foul at the rim as Green rotated over to contest a layup, staying down and getting eye drops on the bench afterwards.
Draymond was called for a common foul on LeBron.
LeBron stayed down after the whistle. pic.twitter.com/8dRol1ovsp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2021
In his walkoff interview, James said he was still struggling with his sight when he got the ball on that final deep three, saying he was seeing three rims and “shot at the middle one.”
https://twitter.com/NotScTop10plays/status/1395238943168282626
When in doubt, shoot for the middle rim, I guess. The Lakers will have until Sunday to be rested up for the Suns, as James can get that eye right and have a few extra days to let his ankle, which seemed to bother him some early in the game, heal up before they go to Phoenix at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC for Game 1.
