Oh no, Bron. No.
LeBron James “pulled a Ben Simmons” by passing away a potential game-winning lay-up as his Lakers fell to a new low, losing to a woeful and injury-hit Houston in overtime.
The Rockets were 2-17 in their previous 19 games and missing two starters yet managed to take down the playoff aspirants.
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Thu, 10 Mar
Thursday March 10th
The crucial moment came in the final seconds as LeBron drove to the basket and with 2.5 seconds left, appeared to have a makeable reverse lay-up that would’ve put LA ahead 122-120.
But he instead passed out to Carmelo Anthony, who sidestepped a closing defender and shot a deep two which clanged off the rim.
The Rockets then scored the first 13 points in overtime, with Carmelo missing two threes, LeBron missing a layup and Russell Westbrook producing a turnover plus being blocked, as Houston prevailed 139-130.
LeBron had a triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists and 14 rebounds but also a team-worst plus-minus of -17, while Westbrook had 30 points on 11 of 21 shooting.
The loss has the Lakers five games back of the Clippers (playing later in the day), ninth in the West, 1.5 games up on the Pelicans and 2.5 games up on the 10th-placed Trail Blazers.
SUNS FIRST TEAM TO BOOK PLAYOFF BERTH
Devin Booker returned from a four-game absence to power Phoenix over Miami 111-90 in a matchup of conference leaders, clinching an NBA playoff berth for the Suns.
Booker, back after being sidelined by Covid-19 protocols, scored a game-high 23 points, passed off nine assists, pulled down eight rebounds, made two steals and blocked two shots for the visitors, who improved to a league-best 53-13.
“I’m just trying to find my rhythm,” Booker said. “I had a week off. I felt good. I was ready to get back at it.”
The triumph was important to the Suns, who lost 123-100 to Miami at Phoenix on January 8.
“They came to our home court and kicked our ass so we wanted to make a statement here,” Booker said.
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Mikal Bridges added 21 points for Phoenix while Bahamas big man Deandre Ayton contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds. Duncan Robinson led Miami with 22 points.
The Suns stretched their lead in the Western Conference to 8.5 games over Memphis by dispatching the top club in the Eastern Conference, the Heat falling to 44-23.
Phoenix, which lost last year’s NBA Finals to Milwaukee, improved to 22-0 this season when keeping an opponent under 100 points and became the first team to secure a post-season berth.
“The playoffs are upon us,” Booker said. “We’re looking forward to it. We don’t want to fall short again.”
NBA RESULTS for March 10
Celtics 115, Hornets 101
Bulls 114, Pistons 108
Suns 111, Heat 90
Hawks 115, Bucks 124
Lakers 130, Rockets 139 (OT)
Thunder 102, Timberwolves 132
Magic 108, Pelicans 102
Knicks 107, Mavericks 77
Raptors 119, Spurs 104
Trail Blazers v Jazz in progress
Nuggets v Kings in progress
Wizards v Clippers in progress
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