LeBron James has said the Los Angeles Lakers will need “urgency” and “physicality” in the NBA play-offs after their 104-98 win at home to the Houston Rockets solidified their place in fourth in the Western Conference on Tuesday.
The Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent joined Houston’s Amen Thompson in top-scoring with 20 points each as their team gained revenge for their 119-115 defeat on the road on January 5.
“We were very locked in defensively with our game plan and what we wanted to do,” said James, speaking to Spectrum SportsNet after registering 16 points during a game in which the lead changed hands 11 times.
LEBRON WITH THE INCREDIBLE BLOCK TO HELP SEAL THE WIN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/jUogxghSXR
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2025
“We’ve got a lot of play-off experience in this locker room and we know that one play here or one play there can be the difference between winning the play-off series or not.
“It’s so close, this year in particular. I don’t [look at] it every day, but it’s talked about all the time and you see where you’re at. Our mission is to lock in a play-off spot and not have to play a play-in.”
LeBron spins, absorbs the bump and finishes for two 🔥
Rockets-Lakers on TNT pic.twitter.com/6jlAOG5VMC
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2025
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LeBron TikTok songs ‘a good laugh’
James, who said he is feeling “a little bit better” every day after returning from a groin injury on March 23, has enjoyed a series of songs made about him that have gone viral during the past week.
The fan remixes dedicated to the NBA legend have become so prolific and popular that they are becoming known as an entirely new genre.
“My youngest son, Bryce, showed me one yesterday,” said the 40-year-old. “We got a good laugh out of it. There are quite a few out there, for sure. I don’t know which one it was but they’re all on TikTok. I’m not on TikTok, so he showed me.”
New pairs every game! @KingJames x #NBAKicks pic.twitter.com/FPKfW9slht
— NBA KICKS (@NBAKicks) April 1, 2025
Luka Doncic: Lakers chemistry ‘great’
Doncic admitted that knocks he had sustained during the game felt “terrible” but predicted they would be “fine in two days”.
“We fought really hard,” said the guard. “It was a very physical game. We’ve got to play like this every game. The chemistry is great right now.
“We haven’t even had [a team] dinner yet, we’ve had so many games. On the court, it’s great. Everybody is joking in the locker room and then we lock in.”
“If you don’t want to shoot it, I’ll shoot it”
Luka on encouraging Finney-Smith (6 3PM tonight) to shoot more 😂 pic.twitter.com/8hx0vpRID9
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2025
When are the 2025 NBA playoffs?
The NBA Play-In Tournament, which is contested between teams finishing between seventh and 10th in the conferences, will take place from April 15-18.
The first round of the play-offs will start on April 19, with the first game of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 5.
