LeBron James shook off the rust and led his Los Angeles Lakers to a thrilling 103-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
After a lackluster first half from James and his running mates Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroeder, James led the Lakers from down 13 and put the Warriors away with a 34-foot three-ball before the shot clock expired.
Showing up on the court for the much-hyped duel was Steph Curry who lit the Lakers up for 37 points but did not get a chance to answer LeBron’s clutch jumper.
“It was a great shot,” Curry said. “That was a tough one because you don’t really expect it to go in. … Everything changes when it goes in. All-time great players make great shots. That’s what happens.
“He made a great shot, obviously, at the end,” Kerr said of the shot. “We’ve played against him so many times over the years, we know how good LeBron is, what he’s capable of. He came through for them.”
Bron stated the shot was hard to make after being poked in the eye by Draymond Green a couple of plays earlier.
“After Draymond’s finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there,” James said. “So I just shot at the middle one. And I was able to, with the grace from the man above, I was able to knock it down.”
The Lakers will now move on to play the Phoenix Suns in round 1 of the playoffs. The Golden State Warriors will now take on the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8-seed and the chance to take on the Utah Jazz.