LeBron James hit a 34-foot, desperation dagger 3 over Stephen Curry to propel the Lakers to the playoffs
- LeBron James hit a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry in the play-in tournament with 59 seconds left.
- James had been hit in the eye moments before and said his vision was blurred on the shot.
- The win clinched the seventh seed and a postseason berth for the Lakers.
LeBron James sent the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs with the biggest shot of the NBA play-in tournament.
With the Lakers tied with the Golden State Warriors at 100, with just over a minute remaining, James received a kick-out pass from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope deep on the left wing with the shot clock running down.
James had to slide over to catch the ball, gather it, and then hoist a 34-foot shot, as Stephen Curry closed out on him, with just two seconds remaining on the shot clock.
He nailed it, as the crowd at Staples Center erupted.
The basket put the Lakers up 103-100.
The Warriors missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and were unable to get a shot off on the final play of the game as time expired.
The shot came just minutes after James had gotten poked in the eye by Draymond Green while going up for a layup.
After the shot, James looked at Curry - his friend and rival - and pointed to his eye, as if to say he was still suffering blurred vision.
In a postgame interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, James said he was seeing three rims when he put up the shot. He said he aimed for the middle one and let the ball go.
With the win, the Lakers clinched the seventh seed in the Western Conference. They'll play the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
The Warriors will now play the Memphis Grizzlies in the final play-in game. The winner will clinch the eighth seed and play the Utah Jazz.