Somebody had to win this game.
It turned out to be the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most chaotic finishes of this or any other NBA season.
The Lakers held a 20-point lead over the Phoenix Suns Sunday night with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. The Suns then rallied to take their own lead with 12.2 seconds remaining, only to blow it in the final seconds.
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The finish featured a go-ahead 3 from Dillon Brooks, who was then immediately ejected for bumping LeBron James in the aftermath. James missed the ensuing technical free throw, but the Lakers managed to pull out the 116-114 win regardless.
Whew. Here’s how it went down.
Lakers build, then blow 20-point lead
The game was tied at 62-62 early in the third quarter. But the Lakers took control via a 24-0 run that started midway through the third and gave them a 95-77 lead on a 3 by James with 9:30 remaining in the fourth. The Lakers then appeared to be on cruise control when they expanded the lead to 99-79 with 8:40 remaining.
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But the Suns ween’t done. They went on a 35-14 run of their own that concluded with a 3 by Brooks with James’ hand in his face. That bucket gave the Suns a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds remaining.
And the Suns should have had the opportunity for more.
Officials miss foul on LeBron, T up Brooks for bump
James clearly bumped Brooks on the follow through and should have been called for an and-1 foul. But officials didn’t blow their whistles.
So Brooks, who has plenty of history with James, got up from the court and walked over to bump James in the chest. Officials definitely noticed this.
And they called Brooks for a technical foul upon replay review for “unsporting contact” and “aggressively approaching James.” The technical was his second of the game, and his night was done. Officials did not address the contact James initially made with Brooks on his shot.
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James went to the line to shoot the technical free throw. But he missed, and the Suns maintained their one-point lead.
James hits his last 2 FTs after critical misses
But James was offered redemption at the line after officials whistled Devin Booker for fouling him on a closeout as James attempted a 3. Here’s that foul, which Booker immediately protested:
The Suns challenged the foul. But their protest was to no avail. Officials determined that Booker made “illegal contact with his right hand to the right wrist of James.”
James went to the line for three free throws and a chance to take the lead. He missed the first. But he made the last two to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead with 3 seconds remaining.
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Grayson Allen had a contested look at a go-ahead floater on the other end that missed, and the Lakers held on for the win following a Phoenix foul on the rebound with 0.4 seconds remaining.
It was a wild finish made even wilder in postgame interviews.
Redick on LeBron’s missed FT: ‘Luka should’ve shot that’
It turns out that Luka Dončić, not James, was supposed to shoot the free throw after Brooks’ technical foul. Here’s Lakers coach JJ Redick after the game:
“Luka and I talked, and I thought Luka was gonna shoot it,” Redick told reporters. “I walked back, and LeBron was at the free throw line, and he shot it.
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“I don’t know what the dialogue on the court was. … Luka should have shot that. Yeah.”
James was asked about Redick’s comments regarding the free throw. Here’s what he had to say:
’S***, I was just walking to the free throw line,” James said of shooting the free throw. “Why wouldn’t I? I mean, I’d have been OK with Luka taking it too. We’ve both been in pressure situations.
“I just took it. Unfortunately I missed it. But I made up for it.”
James finished with 26 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 8 turnovers. Dončić tallied 29 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 6 assists in the winning effort.
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Brooks helped spark the late Suns run and finished with 18 points while shooting 4 of 7 from 3 before he got tossed. He hit three of his 3s and scored 11 points in the final 7:44 as the Suns mounted their rally. Booker scored a team-high 27 points.
But it wasn’t enough as the Lakers got the last laugh and the win in Phoenix. Even if it wasn’t pretty down the stretch.