The Los Angeles Lakers, fuelled by 29 points from LeBron James, beat the Houston Rockets 112-108 in an overtime thriller to take a 3-0 stranglehold in their NBA playoff series.
James, the 41-year-old superstar playing in his 19th postseason, came up with a steal and a game-tying three-pointer with 13.6 seconds left in regulation on Friday.
He could not get a potential game-winner to drop at the buzzer, but added a steal and a block in a frantic overtime as the Lakers pushed the Rockets to the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven Western Conference series. No NBA team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series.
“Just trying to seize the opportunity,” James, who added 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals, told broadcaster Prime. “My guys trust me to try to make plays and I’m blessed to be able to do it.” The Lakers will have a chance to close out the series in Houston on Sunday. It is not a position many expected them to be in with league-leading scorer Luka Doncic sidelined by a hamstring strain and key offensive contributor Austin Reaves out with an oblique injury.
The young Rockets, with veteran star Kevin Durant sidelined by a sprained ankle, were led by Alperen Sengun’s 33 points and 16 rebounds. They rallied from an early 15-point deficit and led by six with fewer than 30 seconds left in regulation. But their mistakes caught up with them. A Houston turnover was followed by a foul on Marcus Smart as he attempted a three-pointer. Smart made all three free throws to cut the Lakers’ deficit to 101-98 and set the stage for James’s game-tying basket. Sengun missed a potential go-ahead basket before James was off-target from beyond the arc and they went to overtime, Smart scoring eight of his 21 points in the extra session as the Lakers pulled away.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece to lead the Celtics to a hard-fought 108-100 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia and a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series. The Sixers had grabbed game two in Boston to knot the series at one game apiece. In a game that neither team led by more than 10 points, the Celtics took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Tyrese Maxey’s three-pointer briefly put the Sixers up 85-84 with 8:42 remaining, and Philadelphia were within one when Tatum drilled a three-pointer that pushed Boston’s lead to 100-96 with 1:57 left to play.