LeBron James scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the last semi-final spot in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament with a 106-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Anthony Davis had 27 points and 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves scored 20 for the top-seeded Lakers, who face the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas today. The Milwaukee Bucks play the Indiana Pacers in the East semi-final.
“You’ve got some of the most alpha male competitors in the world, and if you give us an opportunity to play for something meaningful or an incentive, then you get what you’re getting,” said James, who also racked up 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals.
Photo: AP
“The In-Season Tournament is what it is, and we have an opportunity to play on a big stage, be on national television, represent our families, our communities, where we come from,” he added.
James put on a masterful shooting performance down the stretch, scoring 15 of the Lakers’ first 19 points in the final period and getting the assists on his teammates’ other two baskets as Los Angeles pulled ahead.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points, but he badly missed a long three-point attempt at the buzzer for the Suns. Phoenix had won eight of 10 before losing to Los Angeles for the third time already this season.
Devin Booker cut the Lakers’ lead to 102-101 on a layup with 29 seconds to play, but Reaves drilled his third three-pointer with 15 seconds left.
After Durant made another layup moments later, the Suns were left furious when officials granted James’ request for a timeout while the ball appeared to be loose because Booker had knocked it away from Reaves an instant earlier.
“It’s a loose ball, and you can’t call a timeout on a loose ball,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said. “The whistle blows. I don’t know why. Everything in the league is reviewable. I don’t know why that can’t be reviewable... We got the trap, we got the turnover, [and the] damn whistle blows. It’s just frustrating.”
Reaves said he thought Booker probably fouled him an instant before the timeout was granted.
“There was no call, and LeBron made a high-IQ play he’s made a million times,” Reaves said.
Durant did not share his coach’s anger about the call, saying he did not initially believe the ball was loose when the timeout was granted.
“That’s not the ballgame,” Durant said. “That’s one play. It’s a 48-minute game. I don’t like to complain about calls. Sometimes the ref ain’t going to get it right all the time. Sometimes it’s on us to play through all that stuff and not worry about putting the game in the ref’s hands.”
Davis was eventually fouled, but he missed one of two free throws to open the door for Durant’s potential tying 30-footer.
Booker and Grayson Allen scored 21 points apiece for Phoenix.
The Lakers earned the top seed in the West by going unbeaten in the group stage of the inaugural tournament, including a win Nov. 10 in Phoenix. The Suns rebounded from that setback to earn a wild-card spot in the knockout round.
While fans are still debating the merits of the In-Season Tournament, Vogel and Lakers coach Darvin Ham said their players are getting into the spirit of the event, particularly with the motivation to earn financial bonuses for their teams’ support personnel and younger players.
“They’re well aware of that bag,” Ham said, grinning. “Money speaks, man.”
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