LeBron James scored a team-high 23 points, to go along with nine assists and nine rebounds. Lakers D’Angelo Russell, who scored 21 points and added seven assists, was also instrumental in the victory, shooting 5 of 11 from 3. Former Pelican Anthony Davis put up 20 points and notched a game-high 15 rebounds.

Williamson, whose 40 points paced both teams, also finished with 11 rebounds and five assists. He walked to the locker room in the final minutes of the game with what Pelicans coach Willie Green later described as left leg soreness.

But with Williamson, the Pelicans shook off their Sunday sluggishness with a back-and-forth night. They carried a 10-point lead into the early seconds of the second quarter, but Los Angeles found its momentum before the break and took a 10-point lead into halftime. From there, the Lakers kept building in the third as they continued to limit CJ McCollum (nine points total) and Brandon Ingram (11 points), who looked off after playing in his second game back after missing the previous 12 games with a knee injury.

LeBron James closed out his 21st NBA regular season looking invigorated, formidable on both ends of the court and ready to produce in the postseason.

James had 28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals, and the Los Angeles Lakers claimed the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 124-108 victory over New Orleans on Sunday that dropped the Pelicans out of a coveted top-six seeding.

LeBron James had 37 points — including six in the final minute — and 10 rebounds, and Anthony Davis had 36 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 123-120 on Friday night.

Davis, returning from a left eye injury that kept him out of the Lakers’ loss to Golden State on Tuesday, was 11 of 22 in this game. James shot 13 for 20 to help the Lakers snap a two-game losing streak.

“I felt fine. No issues,” Davis said. “Felt pretty good out there.”

This is what happens when your owner decides to go out and buy a football team. Before Josh Harris bought the Commies, he would have commissioned a statue for Allen Iverson that would rival the Rocky statue at the Art Museum. Heck, it would put the Rocky statue out of business.

But now that he's got that godforsaken football team draining his bank account, this is the best the Sixers could do. A statue for ants to honor one of the greatest players to ever throw on a Sixers uniform. One of the most influential players this city has ever seen. Rarely do Philly athletes get love and adoration by fans outside of the city, but Allen Iverson was one of the rare exceptions that everybody seemed to love. How many Philly jerseys do you see people outside of this area wear? I'd go ahead and put that number at 1, and it's always going to be an Iverson jersey.

The Los Angeles Lakers recently faced off against the Memphis Grizzles. With this being their second last game before the play-in series, the Lakers wanted to secure a win to get better odds going into the next stage of the tournament. As always, the team’s lead scorer LeBron James leads an effective offensive effort during the course of the clash. His on-court performance was enough to leave the Grizzles’ rookie player, GG Jackson, completely confused.

LeBron first gave Golden State credit for the shot making, starting with Draymond Green going 5 for 5 from 3 in the 1st half, and later added this when asked about playing without Anthony Davis: “It’s pretty much impossible to make up for what he does for our ball club.”

The Lakers have said they would prioritize health over seeding down the stretch. But these last few days proved that was easier said than done as LAL slipped from No. 8 to holding just a half game lead over No. 10 GSW

They still are in position to land in the play-in tournament, but finishing seventh or eighth means they would only need to win one game to earn a playoff spot.
“We’re very confident in our ballclub," Davis said. "We laugh about like, oh, winning nine out of 10, you know, 10 out of 11, whatever. and we’re not gaining anywhere. That's how good the West is.”
It is the first time since Dec. 29 the Lakers have been eighth in the conference. With four regular-season games remaining though, coach Darvin Ham isn't focused on seeding but on the Lakers having momentum going into the postseason.

“Just take care of us. Continue to look for ways to get better individually and collectively. Everything else will take of itself,” he said. "We’ll fall exactly in the spot we’re supposed to fall, but the key is for us to be playing at a high level on both sides of the ball.’

LeBron James among the scores of viewers tuning into the women's NCAA tournament this spring. The Los Angeles Lakers forward, considered by many to be the face of the NBA, has a theory on why women's college hoops is having such a moment: the star power.

"I don't think there's much difference between the men's and women's game when it comes to college basketball," James said after the Lakers' 125-120 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. "I think the popularity comes in with the icons that they have in the women's game. You look at Angel Reese, you look at JuJu [Watkins], you look at Caitlin Clark, you look at Paige [Bueckers]. You look at the young girl that's at Iowa State, the freshman there [Audi Crooks]. You look at [Cameron] Brink ... at Stanford. And that's just to name a few. And the freshman that's at Notre Dame [Hannah Hidalgo]. Because they're not allowed to go to the NBA [after their freshman year]."

LeBron James figures there’s at least one obvious explanation for the surging popularity of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Recognizable stars.

“I don’t think there’s much difference between the men’s and women’s game when it comes to college basketball. I think the popularity comes in is the icons that they have in the women’s game,” James said after his Los Angeles Lakers beat Washington on Wednesday night. “You look at Angel Reese, you look at JuJu (Watkins), you look at Caitlin Clark, you look at Paige (Bueckers), you look at the young girl that’s in Iowa State, the freshman there (Audi Crooks), you look at (Cameron) Brink, I believe her last name is, at Stanford. And that’s just to name a few — the freshman that’s at Notre Dame (Hannah Hidalgo).”

LeBron James on Rajon Rondo officially announcing his retirement: “One of the best players I ever played with. … ‘Do always talked about if he ever teamed up with me, he knew we could win a championship. And we did that” The Lakers created some separation in the 3rd Q and take a 100-79 lead into the 4th Q in TOR. LeBron 21p on 9-of-11 8r; AD 21p 12r; D-Lo 14p 7a; Hachimura 14p on 6-of-9. With 2nd night of a b2b looming in WAS tomorrow, will be interesting to see how much LAL's guys play in 4th Q

Late in his 16-year career, Rondo spent two seasons in Los Angeles alongside James and helped the Lakers win the 2020 NBA championship. James told reporters that he holds Rondo in high regard despite only playing together for a brief time.
"One of the best players I ever played with," James said. "Obviously, his IQ was out of this world. I was very lucky to get to team up with him... 'Do always talked about if he ever teamed up with me, he knew we could win a championship. And we did that."

LeBron James on developing his 3-point shot as his career has extended: “I want to be respected and teams have to play me from the outside. That’s still kind of one thing teams [think] still, ‘If we have to give up something, we’d much rather him shoot the ball from the outside’”

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who recorded a career-high nine three-pointers during Sunday's win Brooklyn Nets, says the time he has left in the NBA is "not very long."
"I'm not gonna play another 21 years, that's for damn sure," James said after Sunday's win, per The Athletic's Jovan Buha. "But, not very long. I don't know when that door will close as far when I'll retire, but I don't have much time left."

LeBron when asked how much longer he’ll play in the NBA:

“Not very long… I’m not gonna play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure... I don’t know when that door will close… But I don’t have much time left.”

LeBron James put up one of the most efficient offensive displays of his career by dropping 40 points on 76.5% shooting in the Lakers 116-104 win over the Nets. The impressive performance was a treat for Nets fans, who gave James a standing ovation despite watching their team lose.

The Lakers finish off their road trip with three straight sub-.500 teams in BKN, TOR and WAS but LeBron James says that focusing on their records “will get you burnt every time”

LeBron speaks about managing his chronic left ankle soreness over the remaining nine games of the regular season. Essentially, he has to prioritize health above seeding because if he risks it by pushing too hard and suffers a setback, LAL won’t stand much of a chance at any seed

Anthony Davis on Spencer Dinwiddie scoring 26 points tonight, his most since joining LAL: “How he played tonight, we’re going to need him to play like that the rest of the season