LeBron James made one of the biggest shots of his career. On Wednesday, James and the Los Angels Lakers took on the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament of the NBA playoffs. The game was tied at 100 with less than a minute left when James hit a 34-foot three-point shot to give the Lakers the win. The Lakers have clinched the No. 7 seed in the playoffs and will face the Phoenix Suns (No. 2 seed) in the first round.
After the game, James said he was shaken up before hitting the game-winning shot. He took a hard foul to the face from Warriors’ Draymond Green, which led to him having trouble seeing. “After Draymond’s finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there,” James said via ESPN. “So I just shot at the middle one. And I was able to, with the grace from the man above, I was able to knock it down.”
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“After Draymond’s finger to the eye, I was literally seeing 3 rims out there. I just shot at the middle one…I definitely wasn’t leaving the floor, no matter if I had to put a pirate patch on my eye.”
Every angle of LeBron’s game-winning three over Steph + Postgame comments pic.twitter.com/cWd9yw5bq9
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According to ESPN Stats and Information, James’ three-pointer was the longest go-ahead shot in the final three minutes of any game of his career. And along with not being able to see, James was playing on a right ankle that was injured earlier this year. The injury led to him missing 26 of the Lakers’ final 30 games. James made the shot against Steph Curry, who has made shots like that throughout his career.
“It was a great shot,” Curry said. “That was a tough one because you don’t really expect it to go in. … Everything changes when it goes in. All-time great players make great shots. That’s what happens. No different tonight, but it’s a tough one.” The Lakers did not have an easy season due to injuries to James and Anthony Davis. And despite being a No. 7 seed in the playoffs, they are a team that could get back to the NBA Finals since they are the defending champions.