LeBron James' late 3 pushes the Lakers past the Warriors and into the 7-seed
The superstars were out on Wednesday in L.A.
But it was one superstar who reigned supreme, even though it wasn't easy.
The No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers barely eked out a win over the No. 8 Golden State Warriors to officially earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Let's take a look at how the Lakers pulled it off.
Key performer: Steph Curry
To be fair, every time Steph Curry takes the floor, he is the most important person on it. Without him, this Warriors team wouldn't be near the Play-In Tournament, let alone the playoffs.
And Curry was up to his old tricks Wednesday, dazzling from 3-point land.
He scored 37 points on 12-for-23 shooting, including 6-for-9 from distance. He added seven rebounds and three assists.
Keep in mind, the Lakers used Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and even Anthony Davis – among others – to hound Curry all night.
It didn't matter, and until the final possession of the game, Curry had the Warriors in position to pull off an upset on the Lakers' home floor.
Turning point: That 3
What 3?
This 3.
With 58 seconds to go and the game tied at 100 and the shot clock running down, LeBron hit this desperation 3. It gave the Lakers a 103-100 lead, which eventually served as the final score.
On the night, James wasn't at his absolute best – but that's still great by any other player's standards. He finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, shooting 7-of-17 from the field.
In the end, it was all about that 3.
Wild card: What Anthony Davis can the Lakers expect?
Wednesday night was a weird one for the Lakers' second superstar.
AD was 2-for-12 in the first half and looked … not good.
But he finished the game shooting 8-for-12 from the field, ending the night with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
It seemed like Davis couldn't find his rhythm to begin the game but was able to turn it on in the second half. Will that work against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs and beyond?
Did you know?
This will be the 13th time that the Lakers and Suns have played each other in a playoff series (and the first time since the 2010 Western Conference finals). The Lakers have won eight of those 12 series.
Twitter's take:
What's next: The Lakers have secured the 7-seed in the Western Conference and will face the 2-seed Phoenix Suns in the first round.
Golden State will take on Memphis with the 8-seed up for grabs on Friday.
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