James Stars as Lakers Set Up Thunder Showdown
LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, contributed 28 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Houston Rockets 98-78, securing a 4-2 series victory and advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals against the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In addition to his scoring, James recorded seven rebounds and eight assists in the game that concluded the best-of-seven series. The Lakers had taken an early 3-0 lead in the series and ultimately closed it out decisively on the road against Houston. Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 18 points.
"A lot of our guys, quite frankly, have not been in this position, have not been in a close-out situation, especially on the road, so it was important for me to go out and set the tone," said 41-year-old James.
He added to Amazon Prime, "The mission has always stayed the same no matter what my role has been throughout my career, and that is to go out there and try to dominate.
Obviously, I have the most experience on the team and have the most play-off experience on the team so I know how a series can go. I just try to bleed that into them, bleed the confidence and tell them to go out and play."
Lakers coach JJ Redick praised James’ performance, highlighting his longevity and achievements. James is the first player to participate in 23 consecutive NBA seasons and holds the league’s all-time scoring record.
"To me, he's had the greatest career of any NBA player," Redick said. "You can argue all you want; I don't care to postulate on who's the greatest of all time.
He's one of, if not the greatest of all time, and for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it's baffling in some ways."
The Lakers now face a challenging series against the Thunder, who finished first in the Western Conference and swept the Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. The opening game of their best-of-seven series will take place in Oklahoma on Tuesday.
Pistons and Raptors Set Up Deciders
In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, who topped the conference standings, mounted a remarkable comeback to defeat the Orlando Magic 93-79, leveling their first-round series at 3-3 and forcing a decisive game seven.
Detroit had fallen behind by as many as 24 points during game six, with Orlando holding a 62-38 lead early in the third quarter and appearing poised to secure their first playoff series victory since 2010.
However, the Magic missed 23 consecutive field goals, allowing the Pistons, who had been trailing 3-1 in the series, to capitalize and extend the contest to a seventh game.
"Never say die, simple as that," said Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, who led the game with 32 points.
"I mean, Detroit grit, it's what we've been talking about all year."
The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday in Detroit. The winner will face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors, whose first-round playoff series will also be decided in a game seven.
In that series, RJ Barrett hit a three-pointer in overtime that bounced off the rim, arced in the air, and dropped through the basket with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Raptors a dramatic 112-110 victory in game six and leveling the series at 3-3.
Each game in the series so far has been won by the home team, with the deciding game set to take place in Cleveland on Sunday.
