Ageless LeBron James delivers as Lakers on verge of sweep against Rockets

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Hollinger's Playoff PreviewPlayer Poll: Who is the MVP?Player Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs LeBron James' 3-pointer tied Game 3 late in the fourth quarter. The Lakers would win in overtime. Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images Share articleHOUSTON — LeBron James sat down, but he wouldn’t sit out. LeBron James grabbed his shorts and folded his body at the waist as he grabbed for air, but he made sure the Lakers would live to their last breath. LeBron James succeeded and failed, made and missed plays, but he never faded, never wavered. In a game the Lakers had, then lost, and then somehow won again, the 41-yea-old who has vowed to spend his 23rd season in the moment made sure to create another one. Fighting off exhaustion and a Rockets team desperate to not fall behind 3-0 to the Lakers, James, with the help of Marcus Smart, somehow led the Lakers to 112-108 overtime win. Down six with less than 30 seconds to play, Smart got a steal and drew a foul, making three free throws. Then James poked the ball loose from Reed Sheppard, starting for the injured Kevin Durant, and punctuated the possession with a game-tying 3 right in front of Houston’s bench. The Lakers got a stop and had a chance to end the game in regulation, but James’ game-winning 26-footer rimmed in and then out. Smart would finish off the Rockets with eight points in overtime, while James had a steal and a block in the final five minutes. After the half, James played all but one minute and 53 seconds, sitting on the bench to last second of every timeout to maximize his rest and conserve whatever energy he was able to conjure. “Throughout the course of the game we were trying to find ways where I could get a break or whatever the case may be, but the game was so close and it was a (close) possession game that I felt like we could really turn the game to benefit us and win the game,” James said. “And if that meant that I didn’t get a break and I had to dig deep — or deeper — without getting a break in order for us to possibly win a game and go up 3-0, then so be it. The Lakers entered this series with Houston, ready to help James add to his legacy. Without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the script was there for James to play bravely and fight nobly in what would likely be another first-round exit. But despite being underdogs in each of the three games of the series, the Lakers have almost exclusively looked like the better, more-connected basketball team. In Game 3, James scored 29 points in his 45:04 of playing time. No 41-year-old has ever played that many minutes or scored that many points in the playoffs in league history. The previous record holder, LeBron James, set those marks in Game 2. “I always appreciate and don’t take for granted what he’s able to do,” JJ Redick said. Rui Hachimura, who has worked out with James since being traded to the Lakers in 2023, told The Athletic that sharing the court with James will undoubtedly be one of the thrills of his career. “In the moment right now, I don’t really think about it. But I think in the future, I’ll start thinking about how crazy this whole thing was,” he said. “Almost like in a dream, you know. To be clear, the credit for the Lakers’ 3-0 lead isn’t solely in James’ hands. He turned the ball over eight times and had all four of the Lakers’ fourth-quarter turnovers. Smart made all the little plays. Hachimura scored 16 of his 22 points in the first quarter, the most he’s ever had in a quarter in his pro career. Jaxson Hayes had two critical fourth-quarter blocked shots to help buy the Lakers more time after they’d surrendered their 15-point lead. The Lakers’ bench out-scored Houston 24-3. “Look, there’s a lot of things that happened tonight that were not perfect. Including some stuff I did,” Redick said. “…But you just kind of get onto the next play. And that, to me, is a hallmark of poise; that’s a hallmark of composure. We certainly had a lot of discussions both on the court and in timeouts about correcting some things. “You know, we probably made more mistakes tonight as a group — and not just players, I mean myself included. Made more mistakes tonight, it’s tough to win on the road in the playoffs.” If the Lakers do it again, they’ll have completed what will need to be considered an all-time upset, even with the Rockets playing without Durant in Games 1 and 3. In the immediate aftermath of Game 3, the Lakers again found themselves as underdogs for Game 4. They’ve played like one — bottling that mentality and turning into dives for loose balls, timely deflections and consistent fight for rebounds, even when the Rockets exert their massive advantage on the glass (they had 18 offensive rebounds in Game 3). “You got to leave it all on the court, because you never know. That’s been my motto since I got in this league — just play and leave it all on the court, because you never know. It can be taken away at any moment, right?” Smart said. “And with two of our best players down, we got to play desperate. We got to be the most desperate team and that’s how we have been playing and that’s how we are winning, right? “The chemistry has been built because of that and you’re starting to see guy’s confidence go up because of that.” Still, Smart said he’s not thinking at all about advancing. The Lakers, for the first time this series, will be on short rest with just one day off in between games. “Got one more. It’s not over. We got one more,” Smart said. “And we’re in their home and nobody wants to get embarrassed in their home. And we got them in a nailbiter tonight, so it’s one more. We can’t worry about what happens after that because we got to take care of that. So we’ll worry about that after the game. Right now, Sunday is the only thing on our mind.” But in these fights, the occasional step back should be permitted. The Lakers are one win away from pulling this off, from extending their season to give Luka Dončić, and more quickly, Austin Reaves, chances to get back on the floor. They’re doing it with a 23-year vet hitting game-tying 3s in the same game where he’s throwing lobs to his 21-year-old son. As he finished up his postgame media on Friday, James talked about what the moments with Bronny James have meant — how they’ve snapped him out of the moment for seconds here or there during this postseason run. He spoke about the immeasurable value there is for a young player to conquer his nerves and contribute. “The amount of confidence that a young kid in our league can get from a post-season game is like, a regular season game would never … you will never get nervous from a regular season moment ever again when you play meaningful postseason games and postseason minutes,” James said. “And (Bronny’s) done that and I think that’s pretty cool for his career, for his confidence. As James stood up, he loudly groaned like someone who just played those 45 minutes again all at once, his muscles sore and tight, his tendons strained. For the first time Friday, James was every day of his age. But by Sunday, he’ll have figured out a way to reverse time because that’s what the Lakers need. “Everyone has to do a little bit more because of how much we’re missing,” he said earlier during his press conference Friday. “So, it’s a challenge for all of us. “And we’re figuring it out together on the fly.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms