Luka Doncic scored 60 points and 41-year-old LeBron James hit another NBA milestone in style with a 19-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in the Lakers’ 134-126 victory over the Heat in Miami.
The Lakers’ surge has seen them climb from sixth to third in the Western Conference, where second-placed San Antonio have now joined reigning champions Oklahoma City with their first playoff berth since 2019.
Knowing they could punch their playoff ticket with a win, the Spurs trailed by 10 with 4:50 left to play.
They were five back with 1:01 remaining when Wembanyama drained a pair of free throws and De’Aaron Fox drove for a layup to cut the deficit to one with 26.6 seconds left.
The Spurs bottled up Devin Booker to force the Suns to call a timeout and on the ensuing inbounds Wembanyama fouled rookie Rasheer Fleming — who missed both free throws.
When Wembanyama’s basket over Oso Ighodaro swished through the net the crowd at Frost Bank Center went wild.
“We haven’t had a game like this in a while,” said Wembanyama, who led all scorers with 34 points and added 12 rebounds.
“Feels good to know we’ve still got it.”
The 22-year-old French star was trying to take a measured approach now that his first trip to the playoffs is assured.
“Of course the first instinct is to be proud of it and to love it because we’re part of it,” he said.
“But the key for me is to try to not care because we want to attack 82 games.
“I’m scared to become complacent.”
In Miami, James tied Robert Parish’s record for most NBA regular-season games played with his 1,611th, a mark he can surpass when the Lakers play in Orlando on Saturday.
Both James and Doncic were listed as “questionable” on the Lakers’ early injury report after the team arrived in Miami at 4am in the wake of their win in Houston on Wednesday.
“I was tired,” said Doncic, who scored 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers cemented victory, having taken their first lead in the third quarter. (AFP)
Edited by Tony Sabine
