Los Angeles Lakers qualified for NBA’s playoffs with a 110:106 against the New Orleans Pelicans. The two organizations faced after finishing 7th and 8th during the regular NBA season, with the Pelicans having the home court advantage. Once again LeBron James was the driving force behind the Lakers’ victory, finishing with 23 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds for almost 41 minutes on the court. All five of the Lakers’ starting 5 ended the game with double digits in points, with Anthony Davis also grabbing 15 rebounds. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans but his 40 points were not enough for the victory and they will have to face the Sacramento Kings to decide who will finish the season as the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers advance to the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel…
…while the Pelicans and Kings set up a Friday #SoFiPlayIn battle! pic.twitter.com/O9vvp9OMMo
— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2024
In the other play-in match, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors lost 94:118 to the Sacramento Kings and are out of the playoff picture. Keegan Murray was the best for the Kings concluding with 32 points on 8/13 attempts from deep, and 9 rebounds. Like the other winning team on the night – the Lakers, each of Sacramento’s starting line-up scored more than 10 points. For the Warriors, Curry dropped 22 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 16 coming from the bench, but Klay Thompson had a disastrous shooting night, unable to make any of his 10 attempts.