New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura in the second half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New Orleans.
18:06 JST, April 17, 2024
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LeBron James, Anthony Davis and their supporting cast are making the Los Angeles Lakers look tougher in the playoffs than they appeared to be a few weeks earlier.
The New Orleans Pelicans, meanwhile, find themselves on the brink of elimination and wondering about the health of star power forward Zion Williamson, whose dominant NBA postseason debut was cut short by injury in the final minutes of a close game.
James had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Lakers secured a playoff spot Tuesday night with a 110-106 win over the Pelicans in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Tonight we showed what we were capable of both offensively and defensively, said James, whose team enters the play-offs having won 12 of 15 games. “We have a good group right now, a good rotation, a good plan and the guys are coming in ready to go.”
Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds. But shortly after tying the game at 95 on a driving layup with 3:19 to go, Williamson went to the locker room and threw a towel on the ground in disgust as he walked into the tunnel with an apparent injury.
After the game, Pelicans coach Willie Green said Williamson had “soreness in his left leg.”
He’s going to get some footage of it tomorrow and we’ll find out more, Green said.
Shortly after Williamson fouled out, James hit a jumper, Davis dunked Austin Reaves’ alley-oop lob, DeAngelo Russell hit a 3 and Davis grabbed a crucial offensive rebound before hitting two free throws to help the Lakers hang on.
The Pelicans “threw some tough blows at us,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They kept waving. We kept fighting back.
It has revealed a lot about us and what we are made of, he added.
Davis finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Russell scored 21 and hit five times from deep. James was 10-of-10 on free throws and Davis was 8-of-10.
The Lakers will face defending champion Denver in the first round in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, a sweep of the Nuggets. Game 1 is Saturday night.
The Pelicans will host Sacramento on Friday, with the winner earning the No. 8 seed in the West. The Kings eliminated Golden State on Wednesday night in the later play-in game.
It’s obviously a tough loss for us, said Green, whose team could have secured the sixth seed in the playoffs on Sunday but lost at home to the Lakers 124-108, setting up the rematch in the play-in. “We have to feel this one tonight and regroup and get ready for another one.”
Williamson, Green said, was “fantastic.”
He settled into the game. He just kept attacking. He found seams. He rebounded the ball. He played fast, Green continued. “(If) we have him for a few more minutes, we might have a chance to get this thing out.”
The Lakers shot 14-of-35 from three-point range. The Pelicans went 9 of 29 from deep and Williamson didn’t get much help from the Pelicans’ usual high scorers. Brandon Ingram – in his second game back from a 12-game absence due to a knee injury – missed eight of 12 shots and finished with 11 points after spending the final few minutes on the bench.
“I just love the group that was on the floor at the time,” Green said. “BI is still coming back, he’s still finding his rhythm. So I didn’t want to force the issue.”
CJ McCollum missed 11 of 15 shots and scored nine points.
Trey Murphy III scored 12 and hit two 3s from more than 28 feet in the second half to help New Orleans come back from an 18-point deficit in the second half to tie the score.
The Lakers led 75-57 after Rui Hachimura’s layup in the third quarter. But New Orleans got back into the game by outscoring Los Angeles 19-8 over the final 5:31 of the period.
Williamson provided the surge with a pair of layups. Murphy stopped for a 9-yard three-pointer in the final minute of the quarter and Williamson’s free throw made it 83-76 at the end of the period.
The Pelicans finally tied the game when Williamson knocked down Jose Alvarado’s alley-oop lob in transition to tie the score at 93 with 3:53 to go.
Looking to redeem themselves for a lackluster loss to the Lakers on Sunday, the Pelicans put together a promising opening quarter, taking a 34-28 lead on Herb Jones’ 3.
Los Angeles took the lead by outscoring New Orleans 34-16 in the second quarter, leading by as much as 14 after James, who had 15 points in the first half, hit two free throws to make it 58-44. to take.
In the final seconds of the half, Williamson sprinted nearly the length of the court off the dribble for a floating layup at the horn that made it 60-50.
