NEW ORLEANS -- LeBron James had 23 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers secured a playoff berth with a 110-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night.
Zion Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA postseason debut. But shortly after tying the game at 95-95 on a driving layup with 3:19 to go, Williamson went to the locker room, throwing a towel to the floor in disgust as he walked into the tunnel with an apparent injury.
After the game, Pelicans Coach Willie Green said Williamson had "left leg soreness."
"He's going to have some imaging on it tomorrow and we'll figure out more," Green said.
Soon after, James hit a jumper, Anthony Davis dunked Austin Reaves' alley-oop lob, D'Angelo Russell hit a three and Davis grabbed a crucial offensive rebound, after which he hit two free throws to help the Lakers hold off New Orleans.
Davis had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Russell scored 21, hitting five times from deep.
The Lakers advance to face defending NBA champion Denver in the first round in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, which was swept by the Nuggets. Game 1 is Saturday night.
The Lakers went 14 of 35 from three-point range. The Pelicans hit 9 of 29 from deep and Williamson didn't get a lot of help from the Pelicans' usual high scorers. Brandon Ingram missed 8 of 12 shots and finished with 11 points. CJ McCollum missed 11 of 15 shots and scored nine.
Trey Murphy III scored 12, hitting two threes from beyond 28 feet in the second half to help New Orleans come back to tie it from a deficit as large as 18 points.
The Lakers led 75-57 after Rui Hachimura's layup in the third quarter. But New Orleans got back in the game by outscoring Los Angeles 19-8 during the final 5:31 of the period.
Williamson sparked the surge with a pair of layups. Murphy pulled up for a 31-foot three-pointer in the final minute of the quarter and Williamson's free throw made it 83-76 at the end of the period.
The Pelicans finally tied it when Williamson slammed down Jose Alvarado's alley-oop lob in transition to make it 93-93 with 3:53 to go.
Looking to redeem themselves for a lackluster 128-108 loss to the Lakers in Sunday's regular-season finale, the Pelicans put together a promising opening quarter and took a 34-28 lead on Herb Jones' three-pointer.
That, however, was one of just four threes -- in 16 attempts -- that New Orleans hit in the first half. The Lakers, meanwhile, went 10 of 20 from deep during the opening two periods, with Russell hitting three.
KINGS 118, WARRIORS 94
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Keegan Murray scored 32 points, De'Aaron Fox added 24 and the Sacramento Kings stayed alive in the Play-In Tournament, eliminating the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Sacramento advanced to play at New Orleans on Friday night with a chance to return to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference after snapping an NBA record 16-year playoff drought last season.
The Kings avenged a Game 7 loss at home to Golden State in last year's first round by playing cleaner and being quicker to loose balls against the older Warriors in what was one of the most consequential wins for the franchise in two decades.
The loss kept Golden State out of the playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) in the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones in the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) pulls down a rebound against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket between Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and forward Anthony Davis (3) in the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)