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The Los Angeles Lakers grabbed the last semifinal spot in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament with a 106-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
While Austin Reaves is rightfully earning accolades from Lakers fans for his game-winning 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, LeBron James was the true hero down the stretch.
The Lakers superstar scored or assisted on 19 straight Lakers points in the fourth quarter according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“LeBron has scored or assisted on all 19 Lakers points in the fourth quarter (15 points and two assists).”
James scored 15 of the Lakers' 23 total points in the final period.
The Lakers' win didn't come without its fair share of drama, however. After Kevin Durant made a shot to cut the Suns' deficit to two points, Los Angeles decided to inbound the ball quickly to Reaves. Reaves was clearly expecting an intentional foul, so he backed into Devin Booker, but the referee did not blow his whistle. The Lakers' shooting guard ended up losing his balance, and it looked like Durant was going to pry the ball loose and tie the game.
However, while Austin Reaves was falling and losing the ball, LeBron James made the heads-up play to call a timeout, which referee Tom Washington granted. The only problem was that the ball appeared to be out of LA's hands already when James motioned for a timeout.
The Lakers earned the top seed in the West by going unbeaten in the group stage of the inaugural tournament, including a win at Phoenix on Nov. 10. The Suns rebounded from that setback to earn a wild-card spot in the knockout round.
Los Angeles advances to take on the New Orleans Pelicans in Vegas.
