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LeBron James recorded 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth with a 110-106 victory over the host New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
D’Angelo Russell added 21 points for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who led by as many as 18 points in the play-in game. Anthony Davis had 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for Los Angeles.
“It was a good win for us,” James said. “We punched our ticket to the postseason, so it was a good win.”
The Lakers will face second-seeded Denver in the first round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Saturday in Colorado. The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals on the way to the NBA title last season, and Denver was 3-0 vs. L.A. this season.
“They’ve had a ton of success against our ballclub,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of the Nuggets, “but there’s always a new day. We like where we are, we like where the spirit of our group is. … Everybody is excited about this challenge.”
New Orleans will receive a second chance to claim a playoff spot tomorrow night. The Pelicans will host the Sacramento Kings with the winner getting the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and a date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 118-94 in Tuesday’s late play-in game.
“Whether it’s home or the road, we’re going to give it all we got,” Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. said after New Orleans lost its sixth straight home game. “It’s a shame we got the home record we do. But it’s not for lack of trying, lack of love for this place. It’s just sometimes the chips don’t fall where you want them to. Hopefully we can change that Friday.”
On Tuesday, Davis scored a tiebreaking basket to put the Lakers ahead by two with 1:23 left. Nance split two free throws 15 seconds later to move the Pelicans within 101-100. Russell then drilled a corner 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a four-point edge with 51.3 seconds to play.
CJ McCollum made a short jumper in the lane to pull New Orleans within 104-102 with 38.5 seconds left. Davis hit two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining as the Lakers took a four-point lead and held off the charge.
Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Rui Hachimura added 13 for the Lakers, who shot 41.7 percent from the field and made 14 of 35 (40 percent) from 3-point range.
New Orleans hit 46.2 percent of its shots, including 9 of 30 (30 percent) from behind the arc. Jose Alvarado, Herbert Jones and Nance added 10 points apiece.
The Lakers led by 18 in the third quarter, but Murphy and Alvarado each buried a 3-pointer during a 9-0 surge as the Pelicans moved within 91-89 with 5:41 left in the game. — Reuters.
Online Reporter