The have “acknowledged the magnitude” of each recreation they need to play because the season winds down, their saying they need to play every of them with an urgency to find out their very own playoff seeding destiny within the super-competitive Western Convention.
It actually is easy for the Lakers: Hold successful and that may enhance their seeding within the unforgiving West.
And win the Lakers did on Monday evening, pulling out a over the Rockets at Crypto.com Enviornment. It was an particularly important win as a result of the fourth place Lakers are chasing second-place Houston within the Western Convention standings.
sealed the sport with two free throws with 11.1 seconds left and an emphatic block of Alperen Sengun with eight seconds remaining, protecting the Lakers forward by 4.
James completed with 16 factors, eight rebounds and 4 assists.
However two position gamers helped swing essential momentum within the Lakers’ favor.
Dorian Finney-Smith got here off the bench to attain a season excessive 20 factors, making a season-best six of 11 three-pointers. He rebounded the ball effectively (six), handed to open teammates (three assists), performed his standard stellar protection (three blocks) and didn’t again down whereas whereas guarding Houston 6-foot-11 middle Steve Adams. They pushed and shoved one another, getting technical fouls halfway by way of the third quarter.
Finney-Smith accomplished his evening making two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to seal the ultimate rating.
Gabe Vincent got here off the bench to contribute 20 factors, hitting six of 13 three-pointers to associate with 4 rebounds.
The Lakers and Rockets have cut up the primary two video games of the season and play as soon as extra at Crypto.com Enviornment on April 11. It is going to be one other vital recreation that may decide the seeding tiebreaker if the 2 groups finish the season with equivalent information.
After the win, the Lakers are 2 ½-games behind the second-seeded Rockets and one recreation behind the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.
With seven regular-season video games remaining, the Lakers nonetheless are within the combine for seed and home-court benefit.
“I believe it’s intensified with the complete group — coaches and gamers,” Redick mentioned of the seeding battle. “That’s to not say that we have to discuss it on daily basis. I do know the gamers have talked about it with one another. We’ve talked about it as a bunch, we talked about it as a workers and I nonetheless suppose one of many hardest issues in life is navigating management versus non-control. And in some methods, we are able to management what seed we get. We will management if we make the playoffs. We’ve got to exit and play effectively. Even at this stage of the season the place we’ve had a few dangerous stretches, we nonetheless can type of management the place we’re seeded and if we make the playoffs.”
By the half, the Lakers and Rockets had been tied at 48-48, with Luka Doncic (20 factors) making one in every of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left within the second quarter.
Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 20 factors, whereas Dillon Brooks chipped in 16.
