NBA playoffs 2023 – LeBron James and Stephen Curry’s play-in performance was the playoff prelude everyone hoped for

LOS ANGELES — By all accounts, the play-in match has been a convincing success for the NBA this 12 months. It created thrilling new eventualities towards the tip of the common season and largely stemmed the widespread tanking which had made a mockery of the ultimate month of play for the 14 groups who weren’t making the playoffs.

And it gave us a scrumptious matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors Wednesday evening at Staples Heart.

The sport was an on the spot basic, with two of the league’s brightest stars, Stephen Curry and LeBron James matching one another with good performances and clutch shot-making that felt extra like one among their basic NBA Finals matchups than the play-in sport to get to the precise playoffs.

James bought the higher of Curry on Wednesday, hitting a 34-foot 3-pointer over him to seal the Lakers’ 103-100 win. The triple was the longest go-ahead shot within the ultimate three minutes of a sport in James’ profession, based on ESPN Stats & Data.

He completed with 22 factors, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 128th profession triple-double (together with common season, play-in and playoffs).

“It was good to get that first punch,” James stated. “Mike Tyson at all times stated, ‘Everyone bought a plan till you get within the ring and also you get punched.’

“We did that and it felt good. It felt nice. It settled us. It wasn’t comfy, nevertheless it settled us and we had been in a position to convey the battle to them. We’re trying ahead to what’s going to be in retailer for the postseason.”

The Lakers’ win provides them the seventh seed within the Western Convention and a first-round playoff matchup towards the Phoenix Suns, however drops the Warriors, now preventing for the eighth seed, into an elimination sport Friday towards the Memphis Grizzlies (9 p.m. ET on ESPN).

It’s truthful to query if the reward for all that pleasure is well worth the danger of probably shedding one of many league’s marquee franchises earlier than the playoffs formally start.

“It is a bitter capsule to swallow,” Kerr stated after the sport. “This was our sport and we couldn’t get it completed.”

The Warriors now have lower than 48 hours to regroup earlier than dealing with the Grizzlies in San Francisco. It’s a bit redundant from the Warriors’ Might 15 regular-season finale win over Memphis, which decided the eighth seed within the play-in match.

In every other 12 months, that win would have despatched the Warriors right into a first-round collection towards the top-seeded Utah Jazz. However this 12 months, they’ll need to play two further video games, one among which is an elimination sport, simply to advance to the identical collection.

The unique proposal for a play-in match, based on league sources, was to have the ninth and tenth place groups face off for an opportunity to play for the eighth seed. It got here up in competitors committees for 5 or 6 years, earlier than discovering an ideal alternative for a trial run final season within the NBA Bubble. That labored so effectively, the league opted to broaden it to the present format, which additionally entails a play-in for the seventh seed.

All season lengthy, groups and stars who fell to the seventh spot within the standings lamented the brand new format, which may successfully take what had been a assured playoff spot and switch it right into a weak place.

Was there self-interest behind these gripes? Certain. However there was additionally the stark realization that this might actual a heavy toll on a group just like the Lakers, who had been devastated by accidents to star gamers within the second half of the season. Or a group just like the Warriors, who gained 15 of their ultimate 20 video games to snag what would have been a assured playoff spot in earlier seasons.

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Steph Curry ends the half in type pulling down the 3-pointer with the protection throughout him.

“You guys requested me a number of days in the past how I felt, I stated I’m able to go”,’ James stated concerning the play-in format. “Might the chips lay the place they might. I confirmed up and we confirmed up. And we had been able to play.”

Within the first half, LA regarded like a group that might’ve used the week of observe, capturing simply 32.6% and missed 31 pictures — each season lows. The trio of James, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder scored simply 13 factors. Curry alone had 15 factors, together with a contested 3-pointer over Alex Caruso to finish the half with the Warriors main 55-42.

The Warriors protection deserves among the credit score for the Lakers’ first-half struggles, too. Golden State quietly turned a superb defensive group by the tip of the season behind former Defensive Participant of the 12 months, Draymond Inexperienced, and Andrew Wiggins, the previous No. 1 total choose who has been a vibrant spot for Golden State after his underwhelming begin in Minnesota.

In keeping with ESPN Stats & Data, the Lakers went a mixed 2-for-18 when defended by Inexperienced (2-for-9) or Wiggins (0-for-9) within the first half.

The Lakers roared again within the third quarter, lastly giving up on enjoying Andre Drummond at middle. With the Warriors zipping the ball round, creating power and house for his or her shooters, LA nearly had no alternative however to change Davis to middle, a place he doesn’t choose.

However Davis wasn’t having a lot success as an influence ahead within the first half, capturing simply 2-for-12 from the sphere, so there wasn’t a lot purpose to stay with alignment.

Davis was 0-for-7 from the ground when Drummond was on the court docket with him Wednesday. He additionally shot 1-for-11 when both Drummond or Montrezl Harrell was on the court docket with him, based on ESPN Stats & Data.

The change bore quick outcomes. The Lakers went on a 25-10 run, hitting 11-of-15 pictures after Drummond was taken out of the sport with 5:16 to go within the third quarter. The Lakers had been +6 within the 21 minutes Davis performed at middle Wednesday.

“The message at halftime was now we have to play extra bodily, that’s the general public method to put it,” Vogel stated. “The rotational tweak was, a play-in sport, an unprecedented state of affairs for us. In a playoff collection collection it’s a must to make your changes from Recreation 1 to Recreation 2 or Recreation 5 to Recreation 6. We knew coming into this that changes had been gonna need to be made in-game.

“We checked out our huge lineups, within the first half, that was the plan. To judge at halftime, whether or not to run it again or to regulate and play small … AD struggled to get going with the large lineup, with Draymond on the market muscling him and never calling something. So a mixture of what I knew Wes [Matthews] would convey to our toughness and open issues up for AD and begin enjoying him on the 5.”

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Anthony Davis will get the block on Draymond Inexperienced then comes down on offense and converts the and-1.

After all, the Lakers’ run additionally overlapped with the 1:37 Curry was out of the sport in the beginning of the fourth quarter. Kerr usually likes to get Curry extra relaxation than that, however the Lakers scored six straight factors with Curry out to take their first lead of the sport, 81-79, on Kyle Kuzma’s hook shot off a move from James with 11:05 to go within the sport.

It was solely the second time Curry has performed inside the first two minutes of the fourth quarter all season.

However this was a playoff-level ambiance (an estimated 6,000 followers), with playoff-level stakes, even when it isn’t formally the playoffs but. So Curry needed to play.

“The man is simply flat-out unbelievable,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel stated. “Steve Kerr stated we had been going to throw the kitchen sink at him and we did — and he nonetheless had 37.”

In keeping with Second Spectrum, the Lakers blitzed Curry on 15 choose performs on Wednesday, 13 of which got here within the second half. That’s the second-most occasions LA has blitzed a single participant in a sport this season.

Curry has dealt with defenses like this all season. However the sport tightened. Within the fourth quarter, the groups traded leads thrice, with James scoring eight of his 22 factors, Davis lastly discovering his stroke (13 of his 25 factors) and Curry scoring 11 of his game-high 37 factors.

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LeBron James and Steph Curry present out within the play-in sport because the Lakers take down the Warriors in a nail-biter.

James stayed within the sport after getting poked within the eye by Inexperienced and touchdown awkwardly on his left leg with 2:07 remaining within the sport. He hit one of many two free throws, tying the rating at 98.

But it surely was the off-balance 3-pointer he hit in entrance of Curry with 58 seconds to go — James’ longest make of the season — that sealed the sport for the Lakers.

“After Draymond’s finger to the attention, I used to be actually seeing three rims on the market,” James informed ESPN’s Rachel Nichols after the sport. “I simply shot for the center one.” It was the form of deep, 3-point shot that Curry has hit over hapless defenders so many occasions over time. And Curry bore the identical response to James’ dagger he usually leaves on others.

Curry gathered himself, trying to actual revenge on the subsequent possession. However the Lakers wouldn’t let him beat them, trapping him within the backcourt on the subsequent possession and forcing him to move it forward to Inexperienced to keep away from a 10-second violation.

Inexperienced — who didn’t make a subject objective within the sport however had 9 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and three blocks — handed it on to Jordan Poole, who missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining.

“Walked within the locker room and guys had been upset, pissed off, indignant we didn’t get the job completed,” Curry stated. “However we’ll be prepared on Friday … greatest sport of the 12 months.”