LeBron James was seeing red — and multiple hoops.
With a minute left in regulation time, James hit a miraculous 3-pointer from distance to give the Lakers a 103-100 advantage, and subsequently the win in the NBA play-in tournament over the Warriors.
It wasn't all easy, though: Warriors forward Draymond Green poked James in the eye in the fourth quarter, making for LeBron's 3-ball a lot more difficult. James admitted as much following the win.
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LeBron on his game-winning shot:
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2021
“After Draymond’s finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there. I just shot for the middle one”
(via @Rachel__Nichols) pic.twitter.com/Di0Je54UWT
"After Draymond's finger to the eye, I was literally seeing three rims out there, so, I just shot at the middle one," James said following the game. "And I was able to — by the grace of the man above — I was able to knock it down."
It wasn't anything aggressive or egregious from Green, just a hard foul late in the game. There's some question to whether or not Green even made contact with LeBron's face.
LeBron stayed on the ground after being fouled by Draymond. pic.twitter.com/BtC5Bu5U4c
— ESPN (@espn) May 20, 2021
One thing that isn't up for debate: James entered the game slightly hobbled, aggravating an ankle injury in Los Angeles' final regular season game, the same ankle injury that caused him to miss major time during the season.
The win means LA, now secured as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, will face the Suns in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs this weekend.
LeBron can only hope he gets back to seeing one hoop before then.
