MADRID, 12 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks certified their pass to the ‘Playoffs’ this morning after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the ‘play-in’, with a heart-stopping finish, overtime and LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading, and Miami Heat, respectively .
The Los Angeles franchise sweated its ticket to the crossings through the ring, in a final stretch of the match against the Wolves in which everything happened. The visitors touched the ‘Playoffs’ when it was going to reach the end, but in those key minutes they made several mistakes that ended up materializing in a three-pointer from Dennis Schroder, which made it 98-95 with only seconds left.
But Davis, who raised his level in the final stretch and overtime, fouled Mike Conley on a 3-pointer with less than a second to go. This one did not fail and forced extra time. In that extra time the Los Angeles were much superior, with their most solid version and they won (108-102), guided by a James who signed 30 points and 10 rebounds, with ‘La ceja’ contributing 24 points.
The Lakers will face the Grizzlies in the first meeting of the ‘Playoffs’, while the Wolves, who did not have Rudy Gobert after hitting his teammate Kyle Anderson and with Karl Anthony Towns adding 24 points, will have a second chance against the winner Pelicans-Oklahoma.
In the other game this morning, the Hawks achieved a place in the ‘Playoffs’ by beating the Heat (105-116) in the ‘play-in’, after being dominant in the rebounding section with 68 catches and a Clint Brilliant Capela (21 rebounds), and after his superiority against the locals in the first half. In Atlanta, up to seven players signed double figures in scoring, led by Trae Young (25 points) at an outstanding level.
Atlanta will face off against the Boston Celtics in the ‘Playoffs’, while the Heat, who did not take advantage of the good moment of Kyle Lowry (33 points) and Tyler Herro (26), will face the winner of the duel between the Raptors and the Bulls, in his last option to access the matches for the title.