LeBron James on Wednesday said he had blurred vision when he scored a three-pointer with less than 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 beyond the three-point line, James had been fouled hard by Warriors Draymond Green while he drove to the basket.
Photo: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY
James said he got poked in the eye, which blurred his vision.
“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 gave 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 is to begin on Sunday.
Photo: AP
The Warriors have another chance to get into the main playoff draw, needing to beat the Memphis Grizzlies today.
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 went with the lesser penalty.
James made one of the two free throws to tie it 98-98.
James joked later that he would have a pirate patch on his eye after the game.
Instead, 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,” James said.
Curry scored a game-high 37 points for the Warriors, who were one of the hottest teams in the NBA heading into Wednesday’s game.
In the other play-in game, the Grizzlies earned the right to face the Warriors by beating the 10th-seeded San Antonio Spurs 100-96.
Jonas Valanciunas finished with 23 points and 23 rebounds for the Grizzlies in front of a crowd of 7,019 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
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