LeBron shrugs off blurred vision to seal Lakers’ playoff ticket
Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers argue with referee Josh Tiven #58 during the first half of an NBA Tournament Play-In game at Staples Center on May 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP
LeBron James overcame blurred vision Wednesday to score a 34-foot three pointer with under a minute left as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a first half deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 103-100 and reach the main draw of the NBA’s West playoffs.
James, who said he could only see out of one eye, hit the game winner for the defending NBA champions in dramatic fashion as it came over top of Warriors superstar Stephen Curry with the shot clock expiring.
Moments before the desperate heave from well back of the three-point line, James had been fouled hard by Warriors Draymond Green while he drove to the basket.
Draymond was called for a common foul on LeBron.
LeBron stayed down after the whistle. pic.twitter.com/8dRol1ovsp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2021
James said he got poked in the eye which blurred his vision, but the four-time league MVP showed he is better with one eye than most players in the league with two.
“After Draymond fingered me in the eye I was literally seeing three rims. I just shot for the middle one,” said James, who had a triple double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The victory gives the Lakers the seventh seed in the West playoffs main draw and a first-round matchup with the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in a series that begins Sunday.
The Warriors will get another chance to get into the main playoff draw, but they now must beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
James and Green collided with just over two minutes left and the Warriors ahead 98-97.
The officials reviewed the play to see if it warranted a flagrant foul but after viewing the video decided to go with the lesser penalty. James, still smarting from the poke, made one of the two free throws to tie it 98-98.
LeBron on his game-winning shot:
“After Draymond’s finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there. I just shot for the middle one”
(via @Rachel__Nichols) pic.twitter.com/Di0Je54UWT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2021
James joked later that he would have a pirate patch on his eye after the game.
Instead, like a swashbuckling buccaneer, he stole a victory right out from under the Warriors’ noses.
“I have been poked in the eye before so I just tried to keep my composure,” said James.
It was a tale of two halves for the Lakers who were down 28-22 at the end of the first quarter and by 13 at halftime, 55-42.
The Lakers turned the tables in the second half, outscoring the Warriors 35-24 in the third quarter and then made better plays down the stretch in the fourth.
“They hit us in the mouth in the first half and we just had to respond and we did that,” James said.
Curry poured in a game-high 37 points for the Warriors who were one of the hottest teams in the league heading into Wednesday’s play-in game.
Golden State beat Memphis at home on the final day of the regular season to earn the eighth seed in the play-in tournament.
Canada’s Andrew Wiggins finished with 21 points for the Warriors while Green had two fouls and two turnovers in the last five minutes.
Green finished with five fouls, six turnovers and just two points.
“They made a run in the third quarter and we turned the ball over,” said Curry.
Anthony Davis scored a team-highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers.
