LeBron James just kept hitting shots.
In a remarkable display of timely jump shooting, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar sent a series of daggers into the Phoenix Suns hopes in a performance that he merely described as "playoff basketball".
Facilitating for much of the night, James scored 10 of his 23 points in the final minute of the third and then the fourth quarter, with head coach Frank Vogel cracking a smile as he recalled the clutch shot-making.
"Bron down the stretch, he just hit big-time shots to help us get the victory," said Vogel.
"I don't know what to say. He's a great player, an all-time great. He shows it time and time again, there are very few plays where I felt the ankle bothered him tonight."
The King’s Speech: Effortless pic.twitter.com/57SCDOjRw3
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 26, 2021
The high ankle sprain that sidelined James for an extended period of time heading into the postseason showed no signs of rearing it's head, with the 18-year veteran powering down a number of highlight-reel dunks in the win.
MORE: LBJ and AD power Lakers to Game 2 win
The Game 2 win leaves the series locked at 1-1 heading back to STAPLES Center, where the Lakers will host their first home playoff game since April 2013 when they were swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs. Despite coming into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, James doesn't believe the lure of creating a historic playoff run is required to give the group any added motivation.
Call that a chemistry oop 🧪 pic.twitter.com/jZdtaLVCpm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 26, 2021
"We don't look to a bulletin board for motivation. We're motivated by being in the postseason," he said. "I can't wait to be able to play a playoff game in front of the Laker faithful."
Coming along for the ride in Game 2 was Anthony Davis, who finished with 34 points while filling up the rest of the box score in response to a poor outing in Game 1.
"Great assertiveness. He does it in so many ways," Vogel said. "He didn't settle for the jumpshot, he really ran the floor, rolled hard, drove hard, had the intent to attack the paint with and without the basketball. Great bounce back game for him."
On the Phoenix side, the biggest question mark will remain around the health of Chris Paul, with head coach Monty Williams taking the veteran point guard out for the final seven minutes of the game as he laboured with a right shoulder injury.
"It's pretty obvious, he's not able to make the passes that he wants," Williams said. "He was labouring, I don't want to get into too many details until I talk to him."
Suns guard Devin Booker led all scorers for the team with 31 points, but admitted it's difficult for his team without the floor general on the court.
"At all times we miss him. It's gonna be tough, but we all have to step up," Booker told reporters. "He's gonna fight. He's a warrior out there, and I know he doesn't want anything more than to win these games."
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