(Basketball news) The Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the series as they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 in game 4. For the Lakers, James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, the 38-year-old James also grabbed a career playoff-high 20 rebounds for the first 20-20 game of his 20-year career.
The top scorer in NBA history added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his record 270th playoff game. While Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Anthony Davis had five of his 12 points in overtime. For the Grizzlies, Desmond Bane scored 36 points as Ja Morant scored 19 points with his injured right hand.
“I just try to be as great as I can be offensively, but more importantly on the defensive end,” James said. “That was the mindset tonight. I was able to make a couple of plays. … My teammates told me I had 20 and 20. It’s the first time I’ve done it in my career, so that’s pretty cool, I guess.”
“He just took over down the stretch,” Davis said of James. “Got us a bucket to get to overtime. … All our guys, it was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away.”
“I’m so proud of our guys, the way we fought,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We found a way.”
“Obviously, LeBron gets to his right hand, which can’t happen at the end of the game,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Some breakdowns for us. Very disappointing loss.”
The 8th seed Miami Heat rode some brilliance from Jimmy Butler as he helped beat the number 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks 119-114. For the Heats, Butler scored 56 points which subsequently tied the fourth-best scoring performance ever in an NBA playoff game as the Heat roared back from 14 points down in the final quarter to win while Adebayo scored 15, Caleb Martin had 12 and Gabe Vincent scored 10.
For the Bucks, Brook Lopez scored 36 points and grabbed 11 while Giannis Antetokounmpo who returned from a two-game absence with a bruised back had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists but was overshadowed by Jimmy Butler.
“We knew what we were capable of, even if nobody outside of this building, outside of this roster and outside of this organization believed in us,” Butler said. “That’s fine. We just want to continue to do what we know is possible.”
“We deserved to win that game,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said, “because he played incredible.”
“We didn’t make enough plays on either end,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And they did.”
Also read: NBA: The Warriors tie the series against Kings while Knicks are on the verge of winning the series
