Injured guard Luka Doncic was in awe watching LeBron James lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-108 OT win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Soon after the Lakers seized a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, Doncic shared a graphic of James’ stat line — 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block — on his social media feed.
Lakers Stun the Rockets
The Lakers were down by six points with half a minute left in the fourth quarter before a series of unforced errors by the Rockets allowed them to force OT.
First, Marcus Smart intercepted a pass from Jabari Smith at the 27.8-second mark and drew a foul on a three-point play. He would make all three foul shots.
Thereafter, LeBron James played outstanding defense on Rockets guard Reed Sheppard before poking the ball away and nailing a three with 13.6 seconds left. The incredible sequence allowed the Lakers to tie the score at 101 with 13.6 seconds left.
The Rockets had a final shot at winning the game in regulation, but Alperen Sengun missed his 7-foot shot as the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, the Lakers outscored the Rockets 11-8, with Smart scoring eight of his team’s 11 points, including two free throws with 52.4 seconds left. Rui Hachimura, who finished with 22 points, also made a key bucket after securing an offensive board.
LeBron James Leads the Lakers
Nobody expected the Lakers to claim a 3-0 lead amid the injuries to their two two scorers — Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique). In fact, the Lakers entered the series as +550 underdogs, their steepest odds to win a first-round playoff series in nearly 30 years, according to ESPN Research.
James explained why the injuries did not dampen his team’s spirits.
“The last week of the season, the last thing you would want or even want to imagine or think about is, s—, two of your best players going down with injuries and not being ready for the postseason,” James said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“So it was a shift for all of us, it’s challenging for all of us … and we’re figuring it out together on the fly.”
“We don’t have the luxury of being passive or being complacent,” James continued.
“We don’t have the luxury to do that. Our whole mindset is we have to do everything it takes in that particular game and that particular moment in that particular possession in order for us to win basketball games, because we don’t have a long leash of error.”
The Lakers could get Austin Reaves back for Game 4 on Sunday, but there’s still uncertainty surrounding Luka Doncic’s status.
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