{"id":296578,"date":"2026-05-02T13:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/296578\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:07:11","slug":"lebron-james-leadership-shines-through-in-lakers-series-clincher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/296578\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James’ leadership shines through in Lakers’ series clincher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HOUSTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Marcus Smart<\/a>\u2019s block. LeBron James<\/a>\u2019 dominant second quarter. Deandre Ayton<\/a>\u2019s relentless rebounding.<\/p>\n

The individual performances in the Lakers<\/a>\u2019 ugly, but decisive 98-78 series-clinching win<\/a> over the Houston Rockets on Friday were almost too numerous for coach JJ Redick<\/a> to focus on each one.<\/p>\n

That collective spirit is also what makes him so confident heading into the Lakers\u2019 first Western Conference semifinal appearance since 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us to be written off a few weeks ago and to win a playoff series is a big deal,\u201d Redick said after the Lakers polished off their first-round playoff series in six games. \u201cAnd it just speaks to the character of our team and the leaders of our team. They didn\u2019t let go of the rope.\u201d<\/p>\n

After winning a series in which they were underdogs for every game they won, the Lakers return to the scene of their lowest moment to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals beginning Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The last time they were in Oklahoma City, the Lakers lost by 43 points<\/a>. Their two best players sustained regular-season ending injuries, with news of Luka Doncic\u2019s hamstring injury<\/a> and Austin Reaves\u2019 oblique strain<\/a> coming on consecutive days after the loss. Still dazed from the emotional hangover, the Lakers lost their next two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of question marks,\u201d Reaves said. \u201cAnd just the way that we responded as a group, I think it just tells you a lot about the people that we have in our room. There\u2019s no quit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers finished the regular season with three consecutive wins. They leapt out to a 3-0 series lead against Houston before letting doubt creep in again. After the Lakers squandered two chances to end the series, including a disappointing home loss Wednesday when Reaves returned from injury, critics wondered if the Lakers would really be the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 playoff lead.<\/p>\n

James wouldn\u2019t allow it.<\/p>\n

The superstar forward dominated with 28 points on 10-of-25 shooting, seven rebounds and eight assists. He outscored the Rockets by himself in the second quarter 14-13 as the Lakers went on a 27-3 run to open a 19-point lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that he\u2019s the guy that brings energy, but also we have to help him,\u201d forward Rui Hachimura<\/a> said, \u201cespecially you know, he\u2019s old now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hachimura tried to suppress a smile.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura blocks a shot by Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. during the first half of Game 6.<\/p>\n

(Ashley Landis \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The Japanese forward did his part with 21 points, including five three-pointers. Smart leapt for a jaw-dropping block against 6-foot-8 Tari Eason and drew three charges. Ayton had 16 rebounds, helping the Lakers outrebound the best rebounding team of a generation 54-45.<\/p>\n

Ayton, often maligned for his inconsistent effort, has been a force in the postseason, averaging 11.8 points and 10.8 rebounds while often guarding Rockets All-Star Alperen Sengun one-on-one.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been saying it all year: \u2018Wait till I get to the playoffs,\u2019\u201d Smart said of Ayton. \u201cIt\u2019s a different side of him that fans haven\u2019t seen, that we expect, that we know he can give. He knows it and he\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his second game back from injury, Reaves had 15 points on seven-of-14 shooting with three blocks. He missed all four of his three-point attempts, still searching for his shooting rhythm after a long layoff. But the way Reaves attacked his treatment and returned before the typical four- to six-week timeline was his own form of leadership, Redick said.<\/p>\n

Reaves sometimes left his house at 7:30 a.m. and didn\u2019t return until more than 12 hours later. He drove all over L.A. looking for different treatment options. He did everything short of following Doncic to Europe, Reaves joked.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Doncic\u2019s status is still unknown for the beginning of the conference semifinals. He has yet to progress to live play on the court, although he recently started incorporating movement into his on-court drills instead of just stationary shooting. He is still out indefinitely.<\/p>\n

Without the star point guard, the Lakers could confidently turn to James to steer them through choppy waters. He averaged 22.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the first-round series. At one point during Friday\u2019s game, Reaves approached him to just tell him his performance was \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can say in words how special he was,\u201d Reaves said, \u201cnot just tonight but this series, this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the locker room after the game when the Lakers prepared to break their last huddle, the lights suddenly clicked off. Players started bleating, serenading James with sounds deserving of the G.O.A.T. \u2014 greatest of all time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Marcus Smart\u2019s block. LeBron James\u2019 dominant second quarter. Deandre Ayton\u2019s relentless rebounding. The individual performances in the Lakers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[20675,19538,123150,47781,217,18123,423,124246,7006,349,48,52,51,1415,5814,47,50,49,2699,430,124247],"class_list":["post-296578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-april","tag-austin-reaves","tag-best-of-seven-series","tag-blowout-win","tag-day","tag-doncic","tag-game","tag-game-time-decision-wednesday","tag-houston-rockets","tag-injury","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lakers","tag-lead","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-return","tag-week","tag-western-conference-semifinal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}