Decisive at the end of the game, LeBron James allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to dominate Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns at home (106-103) on Tuesday and qualify for the semi-finals of the new NBA Cup.
Thursday in Las Vegas, the Lakers will face the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee will face Indiana, the impressive defeat of Boston on Monday. The final will also be played in Las Vegas on Saturday.
At 38 years old (39 on December 30), and for his 21st NBA season, LeBron James has not hidden his desire to garnish his incredible record with a new trophy, that of this NBA Cup created to break the monotony of the season regular.
Proof of his motivation, after a fairly close match, the “King” took matters into his own hands in the last quarter, as is often the case.
At 87 everywhere, he chained seven points with a jump shot, a drive, then three points in transition for a small gap before the immediate response from the star opposite Kevin Durant (31 points, 7 rebounds in total), two long-distance clinical banderillas.
James regained control with two new drives to obtain two free throws then score a lay-up.
“I have found myself in this situation many times in my career, I know what to do, I am happy to have succeeded in these few actions,” reacted James about his decisive end to the match.
“Opportunity”
His teammate Austin Reaves planted a crucial three-point basket 15 seconds from time (“THE decisive shot”, according to James) before a confusing ending where Reaves almost lost a ball to the Suns, before being saved by a timeout triggered late.
Julius Randle (#30), of the New York Knicks, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, of the Milwaukee Bucks, fight for the ball during an NBA game, December 5, 2023 in Milwaukee / Stacy Revere / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
“It’s worth what it’s worth, it’s an opportunity at this time of the season, why not seize it? We’re competitors, so let’s fight!” said James, author of 31 points, 8 rebounds and 11 passes, about the new trophy.
The four-time NBA champion and his teammates are heading to Las Vegas on Wednesday where the final four of the tournament is scheduled, in which the Milwaukee Bucks will also participate, who crushed the New York Knicks a little earlier at home (146-122).
After an offensive and balanced first half (75-72 Milwaukee), the Bucks gradually broke away to end up crushing the Knicks, unable to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo (35 points, 10 rebounds), Damian Lillard (28 points) and a very skillful collective at three points (23 out of 38 at 60.4%).
“We played hard from the start. Then we moved the ball well in the second half, finding the open players with a great collective effort,” greeted the Greek.
“We are becoming more and more comfortable together,” he added about his understanding with Lillard, who arrived in the offseason during a shock transfer. “We still have a lot of games ahead of us. The more we play together, the better we get. Sometimes we’ll play well, sometimes we’ll play badly, but in the end we’re the ones who set the tone for the team.”
Julius Randle was omnipresent for the Knicks (41 points), but his team suffered too much from afar (7 of 23, 30.4%).
All NBA Cup matches, except the final, also count for the regular season, which resumes with “classic” matches on Wednesday.
2023-12-06 09:36:52
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