LeBRON James made a game-winning shot with 58 seconds remaining to ensure Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State Warriors in the new ‘play-ins’ format and secured a place in the Western Conference play-offs.
James shot a 34-foot three-pointer to claim a 103-100 win, despite struggling to see after a foul to the face.
LA face the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the play-offs on Sunday.
“I was literally seeing three rims out there,” James, 36, said.
James received treatment after he appeared to be poked in the eye by Draymond Green with two minutes left in the game. He was given eye drops but admitted he was unable to focus on making the shot.
“I just shot at the middle rim and I was able to, with the grace from the man above, knock it down,” he said.
His team-mate Anthony Davis joked afterwards that Lakers “might need to poke LeBron in his eye a lot more to hit shots like that”.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points but it was not enough for Warriors, who must beat the Memphis Grizzlies today to advance.
Grizzles beat San Antonio Spurs 100-96 in their play-ins game to set up the meeting. The winners will become the eighth seeds and play the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the first round of the play-offs. The losers are eliminated. (BBC Sport)
