The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t allow the reigning NBA champions to get a new lease on life. The LA team beat the Golden State Warriors 101-122 on Friday night to end the series between two teams in six games and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

After missing out on the chance to finish the job in Game 5, the Lakers were determined not to waste another chance in Game 6. They built a 10-point lead by the half and never allowed the Warriors to get close later on.

LeBron James delivered one of his signature efficient games that saw him score 30 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. He shot 10-of-14 from the floor while going 2-of-3  from behind the three-point line. His fellow All-Star Anthony Davis added 17 points and 20 rebounds.

“I just wanted to come in and make some plays and be efficient and defend at a high level, and help (Davis) rebound,” James said after the game. “Help our team make winning plays. And I was able to make a few of them.”

Making the West finals represents a huge success for the Los Angeles Lakers, considering their struggles in the regular season. The Lakers started 2-10 and only climbed above .500 late in the season to get in the play-in. However, once the postseason tipped off, the Lakers were a team on a mission and looked in great shape to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season. 

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The Los Angeles Lakers delivered a statement 125-85 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night to advance to the second round of NBA Playoffs. The Lakers became just the sixth No.7 seed in NBA history to beat the No. 2 seed.

The LA team is now waiting for the conclusion of the Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings series to find out their opponent in the Western Conference semifinals.

After a sluggish performance in a Game 5 loss, the Lakers superstar LeBron James vowed he’d play better. And James delivered on the promise, putting up an efficient performance that saw him score 16 points by halftime. He finished the night with 22 points, five rebounds, and six assists in 31 minutes on the floor.

According to James, the Lakers didn’t want to extend the series any longer and wanted to take care of the business in front of their own fans.

“It was definitely a Game 7 mentality for us,” James told reporters. “We understood that we had an opportunity to play in front of our fans, and we wanted to try to end it tonight.”

Making it to the second round, especially against a talented team like the Grizzlies, is a big success for the Lakers. They endured a tough regular season that saw them start 2-10 and remain under .500 for the better part of the campaign. But after easily handling the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Play-In tournament and now sending Memphis packing, the Lakers now look like a legitimate contender who could go all the way.

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The Los Angeles Lakers won 108-102 against a short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in tournament on Tuesday night, ending the regular season in seventh-place in the Western Conference standings and securing a spot in the NBA playoffs.

“It took everything out of us to get to where we are, and it took more out of us tonight,” Lakers big man Anthony Davis commented. “But we’ve got a couple of days before we go to Memphis to start preparing for them. It’s been a battle. It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but now is the time to show who we are, and we showed it tonight.”

Davis and LeBron James proved to be the Lakers’ standout players on the night. James scored 30 points and made 10 rebounds while Davis ended the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.

In Tuesday night’s other game, the Atlanta Hawks overcame the Miami Heat 116-105 to advance alongside the Lakers. Wednesday night will see the Chicago Bulls take on the Toronto Raptors, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the New Orleans Pelicans.

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Anthony Davis soldiered on after twisting his ankle to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, thereby keeping the Lakers’ playoff hopes alive. Now, the Lakers find themselves seventh in the Western Conference standings with five regular season games left to play.

Davis twisted his left ankle midway through the third quarter after stepping backwards onto Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel’s foot. While he needed to be helped to the bench during the subsequent timeout, he got back onto the court after the break and remained in the game until the final buzzer.

The Lakers big man scored 38 points on the night, with 17 points coming in the final quarter. He also contributed 17 rebounds and two blocks.

“I knew I was going to play,” Davis said after the game. ” “Tied the shoes up tighter and just kind off played off adrenaline until the end of the game and was able to get some treatment. But I’ll be fine.”

While the Lakers struggled at the beginning of the season, going 2-10, they are now in fine form, having overturned this difficult start to go 39-38 this season.

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James received some uplifting news on Saturday when he appeared to make progress in his recovery from injury. The Lakers announced that he will be listed as “doubtful” rather than “out” of the team’s home game against the Chicago Bulls at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

James has been sidelined with a tendon injury in his right foot since February 26, rendering him unable to take to the court in any of the 13 games that followed. The player tweeted earlier this week that he has been working out three times a day in an effort to prepare himself for a comeback.

The Lakers star’s return to action will be warmly received by the team which has only recently managed to find its feet during James’ absence. Without James in the lineup, the Lakers have gone 8-5, consequently climbing to eighth place in the Western Conference rankings and giving themselves a chance at qualifying for the NBA Playoffs.

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After the Los Angeles Lakers missed out on trading for Kyrie Irving in February, many believed that the franchise is planning to revisit interest in an All-Star guard in the offseason. Irving is set to become a free agent in the summer and reportedly would like to play again with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in LA. But according to ESPN’s NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, the Lakers have other plans.

Speaking on his The Hoop Collective podcast earlier this week, Windhorst said that the sources close to the Lakers had told him the team won’t pursue Irving when he hits the free agency.

 “To my knowledge, and [from] what I’ve been told, the Kyrie ship I think has sailed,” Windhorst explained.

Windhorst added that the Lakers’ mindset at the moment is to keep the team as it is and try to retain their own free agents. They have nine players on their roster being set for free agency, including unrestricted free agents in D’Angelo Russell, Lonnie Walker IV, and Dennis Schröder.

The Lakers reportedly offered a package centered on former MVP Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving ahead of the NBA trade deadline. The Nets didn’t find this offer too attractive and instead went with the Dallas Mavericks’ package that consisted of Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and two second-rounders.

Since arriving in Dallas, Irving is averaging career-high 28.4 points per game while adding 5.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists.

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The Los Angeles Lakers are set to be reunited with point guard D’Angelo Russell after engaging in a three-team, eight-player trade, sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Wednesday.

In addition to receiving D’Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers will also acquire Utah Jazz teammates Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Utah will also be parting ways with guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who leave for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange, Utah will receive Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones from the Lakers along with a 2027 first-round draft pick.

Furthermore, the Lakers will part ways with Russell Westbrook, who heads to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Losing Westbrook has been viewed as a necessary sacrifice by the Lakers, who look to revive their season by adding Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt to their roster, furthermore strengthening their squad around LeBron James.

Selected by the Lakers as the number two overall pick in the 2015 draft, D’Angelo Russell played two seasons in Los Angeles before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in June 2017. Russell returns to the Lakers having averaged 13.4 points while hitting 35.9% of his 3-pointers for the Jazz this season.

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The Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made history on Tuesday night, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points to claim the top spot for the most career points in NBA history.

James achieved this feat in the third quarter of his team’s narrow 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night when he made a 14-foot jump to surpass Abdul Jabbar’s record which has stood for nearly 40 years.

The game was brought to a halt after James’ record-breaking shot, with the crowd chanting “MVP, MVP” in James’ favor as he embraced his wife, mother, and three children as they came onto the court. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Abdul-Jabbar then joined James for a 10-minute ceremony, where Abdul-Jabbar held the game ball aloft before handing it to James.

“I just want to say, thank you to the Laker faithful. You guys are one of a kind,” an emotional James exclaimed to the Lakers’ supporters. “To be able to be in the presence of such a legend as great as Kareem, it’s very humbling. Please give a standing ovation to the Captain, please.”

Needing just 36 points to overtake Abdul-Jabbar’s record before the game, James ended the game with 38 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3.

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The Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook got the 8,972nd assist of his career during his team’s 121-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. As a result, he passed Gary Payton to go 10th on the NBA’s all-time assists chart.

“If somebody had told me 15 years ago, 20 years ago that you’d be top 10 in assists, I’d look at them like they was crazy,” Westbrook exclaimed after the game. “In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats. I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don’t take any of that for granted.”

Finishing the evening with 17 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, Westbrook will be disappointed, however, that the Lakers slumped to a second straight loss. The Lakers went 24-27 after the defeat, putting them in 13th place on the Western Conference standings.

Coach Darvin Ham revealed that despite the loss, the team still made time to give Westbrook a round of applause after the game in recognition of his achievement.

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LeBron James is set to return from injury when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. This will mark James’ first appearance at Madison Square Garden after three years.

Last year, James missed the Knicks game on the road due to a suspension after an altercation with the Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart. Two years ago, James missed the same fixture due to a high ankle sprain.

James missed the Lakers’ 121-104 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night after complaining of “significant soreness” in his left foot, Lakers coach Darvin Ham revealed. Fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis also missed the Nets game due to the same right foot injury that has resulted in him missing 20 games from mid-December to late January.

Like James, Davis is listed as probable for the Knicks game. Starting point guard Patrick Beverley, on the other hand, remains unavailable as he continued to experience left knee soreness.

For James, Madison Square Garden remains a favorite arena to play in. The four-time MVP once mentioned that playing at MSG is his favorite part about visiting New York City.

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The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t allow the reigning NBA champions to get a new lease on life. The LA team beat the Golden State Warriors 101-122 on Friday night to end the series between two teams in six games and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

After missing out on the chance to finish the job in Game 5, the Lakers were determined not to waste another chance in Game 6. They built a 10-point lead by the half and never allowed the Warriors to get close later on.

LeBron James delivered one of his signature efficient games that saw him score 30 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. He shot 10-of-14 from the floor while going 2-of-3  from behind the three-point line. His fellow All-Star Anthony Davis added 17 points and 20 rebounds.

“I just wanted to come in and make some plays and be efficient and defend at a high level, and help (Davis) rebound,” James said after the game. “Help our team make winning plays. And I was able to make a few of them.”

Making the West finals represents a huge success for the Los Angeles Lakers, considering their struggles in the regular season. The Lakers started 2-10 and only climbed above .500 late in the season to get in the play-in. However, once the postseason tipped off, the Lakers were a team on a mission and looked in great shape to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season. 

The post Lakers Advance to the NBA Western Conference Finals After Beating the Warriors appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers delivered a statement 125-85 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night to advance to the second round of NBA Playoffs. The Lakers became just the sixth No.7 seed in NBA history to beat the No. 2 seed.

The LA team is now waiting for the conclusion of the Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings series to find out their opponent in the Western Conference semifinals.

After a sluggish performance in a Game 5 loss, the Lakers superstar LeBron James vowed he’d play better. And James delivered on the promise, putting up an efficient performance that saw him score 16 points by halftime. He finished the night with 22 points, five rebounds, and six assists in 31 minutes on the floor.

According to James, the Lakers didn’t want to extend the series any longer and wanted to take care of the business in front of their own fans.

“It was definitely a Game 7 mentality for us,” James told reporters. “We understood that we had an opportunity to play in front of our fans, and we wanted to try to end it tonight.”

Making it to the second round, especially against a talented team like the Grizzlies, is a big success for the Lakers. They endured a tough regular season that saw them start 2-10 and remain under .500 for the better part of the campaign. But after easily handling the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Play-In tournament and now sending Memphis packing, the Lakers now look like a legitimate contender who could go all the way.

The post Lakers Beat the Grizzlies By 40 Points to Advance to the Second Round of the NBA Playoffs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers won 108-102 against a short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in tournament on Tuesday night, ending the regular season in seventh-place in the Western Conference standings and securing a spot in the NBA playoffs.

“It took everything out of us to get to where we are, and it took more out of us tonight,” Lakers big man Anthony Davis commented. “But we’ve got a couple of days before we go to Memphis to start preparing for them. It’s been a battle. It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but now is the time to show who we are, and we showed it tonight.”

Davis and LeBron James proved to be the Lakers’ standout players on the night. James scored 30 points and made 10 rebounds while Davis ended the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.

In Tuesday night’s other game, the Atlanta Hawks overcame the Miami Heat 116-105 to advance alongside the Lakers. Wednesday night will see the Chicago Bulls take on the Toronto Raptors, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the New Orleans Pelicans.

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Anthony Davis soldiered on after twisting his ankle to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, thereby keeping the Lakers’ playoff hopes alive. Now, the Lakers find themselves seventh in the Western Conference standings with five regular season games left to play.

Davis twisted his left ankle midway through the third quarter after stepping backwards onto Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel’s foot. While he needed to be helped to the bench during the subsequent timeout, he got back onto the court after the break and remained in the game until the final buzzer.

The Lakers big man scored 38 points on the night, with 17 points coming in the final quarter. He also contributed 17 rebounds and two blocks.

“I knew I was going to play,” Davis said after the game. ” “Tied the shoes up tighter and just kind off played off adrenaline until the end of the game and was able to get some treatment. But I’ll be fine.”

While the Lakers struggled at the beginning of the season, going 2-10, they are now in fine form, having overturned this difficult start to go 39-38 this season.

The post Injured Anthony Davis Lifts Lakers To Crucial Victory appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James received some uplifting news on Saturday when he appeared to make progress in his recovery from injury. The Lakers announced that he will be listed as “doubtful” rather than “out” of the team’s home game against the Chicago Bulls at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

James has been sidelined with a tendon injury in his right foot since February 26, rendering him unable to take to the court in any of the 13 games that followed. The player tweeted earlier this week that he has been working out three times a day in an effort to prepare himself for a comeback.

The Lakers star’s return to action will be warmly received by the team which has only recently managed to find its feet during James’ absence. Without James in the lineup, the Lakers have gone 8-5, consequently climbing to eighth place in the Western Conference rankings and giving themselves a chance at qualifying for the NBA Playoffs.

The post LeBron Upgraded From “Out” To “Doubtful” For Bulls Game appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After the Los Angeles Lakers missed out on trading for Kyrie Irving in February, many believed that the franchise is planning to revisit interest in an All-Star guard in the offseason. Irving is set to become a free agent in the summer and reportedly would like to play again with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in LA. But according to ESPN’s NBA Insider Brian Windhorst, the Lakers have other plans.

Speaking on his The Hoop Collective podcast earlier this week, Windhorst said that the sources close to the Lakers had told him the team won’t pursue Irving when he hits the free agency.

 “To my knowledge, and [from] what I’ve been told, the Kyrie ship I think has sailed,” Windhorst explained.

Windhorst added that the Lakers’ mindset at the moment is to keep the team as it is and try to retain their own free agents. They have nine players on their roster being set for free agency, including unrestricted free agents in D’Angelo Russell, Lonnie Walker IV, and Dennis Schröder.

The Lakers reportedly offered a package centered on former MVP Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving ahead of the NBA trade deadline. The Nets didn’t find this offer too attractive and instead went with the Dallas Mavericks’ package that consisted of Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and two second-rounders.

Since arriving in Dallas, Irving is averaging career-high 28.4 points per game while adding 5.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists.

The post Lakers Reportedly Won’t Pursue All-Star Guard Kyrie Irving in the Offseason appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to be reunited with point guard D’Angelo Russell after engaging in a three-team, eight-player trade, sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Wednesday.

In addition to receiving D’Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers will also acquire Utah Jazz teammates Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Utah will also be parting ways with guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who leave for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange, Utah will receive Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones from the Lakers along with a 2027 first-round draft pick.

Furthermore, the Lakers will part ways with Russell Westbrook, who heads to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Losing Westbrook has been viewed as a necessary sacrifice by the Lakers, who look to revive their season by adding Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt to their roster, furthermore strengthening their squad around LeBron James.

Selected by the Lakers as the number two overall pick in the 2015 draft, D’Angelo Russell played two seasons in Los Angeles before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in June 2017. Russell returns to the Lakers having averaged 13.4 points while hitting 35.9% of his 3-pointers for the Jazz this season.

The post Lakers Reacquire Russell in Three-Team Trade appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made history on Tuesday night, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points to claim the top spot for the most career points in NBA history.

James achieved this feat in the third quarter of his team’s narrow 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night when he made a 14-foot jump to surpass Abdul Jabbar’s record which has stood for nearly 40 years.

The game was brought to a halt after James’ record-breaking shot, with the crowd chanting “MVP, MVP” in James’ favor as he embraced his wife, mother, and three children as they came onto the court. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Abdul-Jabbar then joined James for a 10-minute ceremony, where Abdul-Jabbar held the game ball aloft before handing it to James.

“I just want to say, thank you to the Laker faithful. You guys are one of a kind,” an emotional James exclaimed to the Lakers’ supporters. “To be able to be in the presence of such a legend as great as Kareem, it’s very humbling. Please give a standing ovation to the Captain, please.”

Needing just 36 points to overtake Abdul-Jabbar’s record before the game, James ended the game with 38 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3.

The post LeBron James Tops NBA All-Time Scoring Charts appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook got the 8,972nd assist of his career during his team’s 121-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. As a result, he passed Gary Payton to go 10th on the NBA’s all-time assists chart.

“If somebody had told me 15 years ago, 20 years ago that you’d be top 10 in assists, I’d look at them like they was crazy,” Westbrook exclaimed after the game. “In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats. I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don’t take any of that for granted.”

Finishing the evening with 17 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, Westbrook will be disappointed, however, that the Lakers slumped to a second straight loss. The Lakers went 24-27 after the defeat, putting them in 13th place on the Western Conference standings.

Coach Darvin Ham revealed that despite the loss, the team still made time to give Westbrook a round of applause after the game in recognition of his achievement.

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LeBron James is set to return from injury when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. This will mark James’ first appearance at Madison Square Garden after three years.

Last year, James missed the Knicks game on the road due to a suspension after an altercation with the Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart. Two years ago, James missed the same fixture due to a high ankle sprain.

James missed the Lakers’ 121-104 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night after complaining of “significant soreness” in his left foot, Lakers coach Darvin Ham revealed. Fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis also missed the Nets game due to the same right foot injury that has resulted in him missing 20 games from mid-December to late January.

Like James, Davis is listed as probable for the Knicks game. Starting point guard Patrick Beverley, on the other hand, remains unavailable as he continued to experience left knee soreness.

For James, Madison Square Garden remains a favorite arena to play in. The four-time MVP once mentioned that playing at MSG is his favorite part about visiting New York City.

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