The Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday raised their 2020 NBA championship banner, then scraped a 124-122 victory over the hapless Houston Rockets to keep alive their hopes of direct entry to the playoffs.
The Atlanta Hawks clinched their first playoff berth since 2016 with a 120-116 come-from-behind victory over the Washington Wizards, and the New York Knicks were assured of their first post-season spot since 2013 when the Boston Celtics fell 102-94 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With the regular season speeding toward its close on Sunday, the Lakers remained outside the top six in the Western Conference and likely looking at having to advance through the play-in tournament for the teams ranked seventh through 10th in each conference.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY
Lakers reserve Kyle Kuzma drove for the go-ahead layup with 6.9 seconds remaining, putting Los Angeles up 123-122 after they had surrendered nine straight points to fall one point down.
Lakers forward Wesley Matthews then managed to poke the ball away from Houston’s Kelly Olynyk on what would be the Rockets’ final possession, and Talen Horton-Tucker made a free-throw to complete the scoring.
Even with superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined by injuries, the Lakers would not have expected to cut it so fine against a Rockets team that owns the worst record in the league.
Before tip-off, a crowd of 4,087 saw the Lakers finally raise the franchise’s 17th championship banner to the rafters.
The Lakers had waited until COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased enough to allow some fans in the stands for the moment and James, still feeling the effects of a high ankle sprain from March, was on hand to address the crowd.
“We could not send this banner to the rafters without you guys,” he told fans. “This is absolutely for you guys. On the road to back-to-back [titles], starts in about a week.”
The teams occupying the final two playoff spots in the West, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks, both won on Wednesday, with Portland downing the league-leading Utah Jazz 105-98 and Dallas beating the New Orleans Pelicans 125-107.
More pieces of the playoff puzzle fell into place in the East, where Trae Young scored 33 points to propel the Hawks past the Wizards.
The Knicks had the night off, but their playoff berth was secured when the Celtics fell to the Cavs — who had lost 11 straight and were already eliminated from playoff contention.
The defeat means the Celtics would battle in the play-in tournament for a berth in the playoffs proper.
Elsewhere in the East, James Harden returned from a nagging hamstring injury to score 18 points with 11 assists and seven rebounds in the Brooklyn Nets’ wire-to-wire 128-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The victory left the Nets a slim hope of catching the Philadelphia 76ers for the top seed in the East.
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