King James Is Back In The Second Round
James, who has now reached the second round of the NBA playoffs just three times in the last eight years, was superb against the Rockets. James’ Game 6 performance last night marked his 157th career playoff game of at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists. According to ESPN’s Insights, there are 84 more such games than the next closest player, Michael Jordan.
James produced four 20-point games and had two double-doubles in the series. The 41-year-old finished with 23.2 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.2 rebounds. James also knocked down 1.5 threes a game with shooting splits of 43.2/30.0/73.9.
“I’m kicking [Father Time’s] ass,” James said in his postgame interview on Prime. “He can go to somebody else at this point. He already lost to me. It’s over with.”
While James was the catalyst for the Lakers in the series, he certainly didn’t do it himself. Rui Hachimura, who tallied 21 points in Game 6, totaled a career-playoff high 15.8 points and 2.8 threes while shooting 54.3% from the field and 58.6% from deep during the series. Reeves followed his 22-point effort in Game 5 with a more efficient 15-point and three-block outing in Game 6.
DeAndre Ayton recorded a double-double in four of the six games, posting 33 combined rebounds in Games 5 and 6. Ayton also did a superb job defensively on Alperen Sengun. Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard also contributed on both ends of the floor throughout the series.
Speaking of defense, LA was fantastic overall. The Lakers held the Rockets to under 100 points on four occassions. The Lakers limited the Rockets to 41% shooting shooting from the field and 30% from the 3-point line. They recorded 6.7 blocks and held the Rockets to 57.3% shooting within six feet of the rim, which is fourth best in the first round.
