LeBron James scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished eight assists Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the Houston Rockets 98-78 on the road, securing a 4-2 first-round series win and a date with the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.
James, 41, set the tone from the opening possessions. "A lot of our guys, quite frankly, have not been in this position, have not been in a close-out situation, especially on the road," he told Amazon Prime after the game. "The mission has always stayed the same no matter what my role has been throughout my career, and that is to go out there and try to dominate."
Houston's Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 18 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Lakers team that had led the series 3-0 before the Rockets forced three consecutive games. Lakers coach JJ Redick didn't hide his admiration for James, the league's all-time leading scorer and the first player to appear in 23 consecutive NBA seasons. "To me, he's had the greatest career of any NBA player," Redick said. "For him to do it again and answer the bell again, it's baffling in some ways."
The Thunder present a steeper challenge. Oklahoma City finished atop the Western Conference and swept the Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the first round. The Lakers and Thunder open their best-of-seven series Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will meet Saturday night in a winner-take-all Game 7, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. EDT in Boston. The 76ers won Game 6 on Friday 106-93, with Tyrese Maxey leading Philadelphia with 30 points. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18. The Celtics enter the deciding game as 7.5-point favorites. Joel Embiid is listed as day-to-day with an abdominal injury for the 76ers.
Brown has been the Celtics' engine throughout the series, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Maxey has averaged 25.0 points and 3.9 rebounds over the last ten games for Philadelphia. Boston leads the league in fewest points allowed per game at 107.2, while holding opponents to 44.2 percent shooting from the field.
Also Friday, the Detroit Pistons erased a 24-point deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 93-79 and force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Orlando had led 62-38 early in the third quarter before missing 23 consecutive field goals. Cade Cunningham scored 32 points to lead Detroit's comeback. "Never say die, simple as that," Cunningham said. "Detroit grit, it's what we've been talking about all year." The deciding game is Sunday in Detroit.
The winner of the Pistons-Magic series will face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors, whose own first-round series is also headed to a Game 7 after a late three-pointer by RJ Barrett tied that series at three games apiece.
