- The Lakers will face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
- New Orleans will face the winner of the Kings-Warriors game for eighth place
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LeBron James had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth with a 110-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the conference play-in tournament West on Tuesday night.
Zion Williamson scored 40 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA postseason debut. But shortly after tying the game at 95 with a layup with 3:19 left, Williamson went to the locker room and threw a towel on the floor in disgust as he walked toward the tunnel with an apparent injury.
Shortly after, James hit a jumper, Anthony Davis hit an alley-oop lob from Austin Reaves, DeAngelo Russell hit a 3-pointer and Davis grabbed a crucial offensive rebound, after which he made two free throws to help the Lakers hold on. New Orleans at bay.
Davis scored 20 points and 15 rebounds. Russell scored 21, hitting five times from deep.
The Lakers advance to face defending NBA champion Denver in the first round in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, which were swept by the Nuggets. Game 1 is Saturday night.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on Tuesday night.
Despite scoring 40 points with 11 rebounds, Zion Williamson and the Pelicans lost, 110-106
With the victory in the Play-in, the Lakers secured seventh place and will play against the Denver Nuggets
The Pelicans will face the winner of the other West game between Golden State and Sacramento on Friday.
The Lakers made 14 of 35 3-point shots. The Pelicans were 9 of 29 from deep and Williamson didn’t get much help from the Pelicans’ usual leading scorers. Brandon Ingram missed 8 of 12 shots and finished with 11 points. CJ McCollum missed 11 of 15 shots and scored nine.
Trey Murphy III scored 12, hitting two 3-pointers from beyond 28 feet in the second half to help New Orleans come back and tie a deficit of up to 18 points.
The Lakers led 75-57 after a layup by Rui Hachimura 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 sparked the surge with a pair of layups. Murphy hit a 31-foot 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter and Williamson’s free throw made it 83-76 at the end of the period.
Lakers center Anthony Davis achieved a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The Pelicans will face the winner between Golden State and Sacramento for the eighth spot.
The Pelicans finally tied it when Williamson knocked down an alley-oop lob by José Alvarado in transition to make it 93 with 3:53 left.
Looking to redeem themselves for a lackluster 128-108 loss to the Lakers in Sunday’s regular-season finale, the Pelicans put together a promising first quarter and took a 34-28 lead on a 3-pointer by Herb Jones.
That, however, was one of only four 3-pointers (on 16 attempts) that New Orleans made in the first half. Meanwhile, the Lakers were 10 of 20 from deep through the first two periods, with Russell hitting three.
Los Angeles took the lead by outscoring New Orleans 34-16 in the second quarter, leading by as many as 14 after James, who scored 15 points in the first half, hit a pair of free throws to make the score 58-44.
Williamson, who scored 20 points in the first half, cut New Orleans’ halftime deficit to 10 with a pair of inside baskets, starting when Ingram found him on a backcut for a dunk. In the final seconds of the period, Williamson sprinted the length of the court off the dribble for a layup at the buzzer that made the score 60-50.