The Los Angeles Lakers have just locked up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They did that by absolutely crushing the Houston Rockets notching their last home win of the regular season 140-109. Luka Doncic was driving the bus, as usual, scoring 39 points on a blistering 13-of-19 shooting through three quarters. His performance, combined with contributions from teammates, showcased the team’s readiness for the upcoming playoffs.
Coach JJ Redick, who celebrated the team’s 50th win with an ice bucket shower from his players, expressed pride in the accomplishment. “It’s an accomplishment to win 50 games in the regular season in any year,” Redick said. “I think especially this year, in this Western Conference, it is. It’s a credit to our players. Each of the above – at various moments in time – have played key roles in winning.”
Truth is, as the Lakers get ready for the postseason their first-round playoff opponent is up-in-the-air. The team heads to Portland this Sunday to face off against the Trail Blazers in their season finale. After, they’ll get to experience a week of “thank goodness we won that challenge” before hosting Game 1 of their playoff series next weekend.
In the game against the Rockets, LeBron James contributed 14 points and eight assists in just 22 minutes before exiting due to a potential left hip/groin injury. James left the arena without talking to reporters but went on to congratulate his team in a post on X. Coach Redick subsequently calmed fans’ nerves by telling them that James is “all right.”
Luka Doncic sounding a similar theme as his teammate Austin Reaves expressed recently about all the things this group could be. We feel very blessed to have a wonderful team supporting us. Everyone contributes to us in all sorts of ways. Doncic said, “If we want to win the championship, it’s going to have to be all of us.” He was keen to note that success would require a concerted effort by all involved.
The celebrations for their milestone win were lively and included Rui Hachimura describing the postgame atmosphere: “The whole locker room is literally water.” This sort of silly banter was a good reminder of the team’s chemistry and how much they are excited to hit big milestones together.
Not everyone’s gaze was glued to the party. Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas even blasted James for doing his full workout sans shirt just five hours prior to tipoff. He speculated that this choice led to James’s poor outing and the turning of his ankle.
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