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LeBron James and LA Lakers have sealed their return to the playoffs, and they will now face Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in round one. James led the Lakers to a 108-102 OT win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the seventh-seed game in the play-in tournament on Tuesday.
"King James" had 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the game on 57.1% shooting. He went 3-of-6 from the 3-point line and made all three free throw attempts. The win marks the Lakers' return to the playoffs after 2021.
LeBron James will face Ja Morant in the playoffs for the first time ever. The matchup has NBA fans excited. The current face of the league matching up against the potential future face of the NBA is the box-office series fans would've wanted.
NBA Twitter went into a frenzy with the round one series becoming official. One fan wrote:
"Thug vs king LFG"
More reactions followed:
LeBron James and LA Lakers seem playoffs ready
LeBron James and the LA Lakers seemed playoff ready following their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers trailed by 15 points in the second half but locked down defensively in the final quarter and a half to seal the win. The Lakers matched the T'Wolves physically, with the game being called as if it were the playoffs.
The Lakers shot only 41.3% and made 10-of-31 threes compared to the Timberwolves' 43.4% and 16-of-41 threes. However, the Lakers limited the T'Wolves to only 12 points in the fourth. That number could've been four had Anthony Davis not fouled Mike Conley on a 3-point attempt with less than a second left in the game.
Nevertheless, LA showed their mettle in OT and relied on their experience to beat the young Timberwolves team. Along with LeBron's 30-piece, Anthony Davis tallied 24 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and three blocks, while Dennis Schroder added 21 off the bench.
Schroder hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with one second left in regulation and knocked down clutch free throws in overtime with eight seconds left. The LA Lakers will be a difficult matchup for the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron James' experience in the playoffs, which is significantly more than the entire Grizzlies squad, plays to LA's advantage.
James has also lost only one first-round playoff series in his entire career. The loss came against the Phoenix Suns in 2021 when Anthony Davis sustained a groin injury. The Lakers were up 2-1 with AD healthy until that point and lost the next three games.
