LeBron James scored 23 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 to reach the NBA play-offs.
James, 39, also chipped in with nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals to help the Lakers seal the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers face defending champions the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the play-offs.
“We’ve got a good group going right now,” James said.
“We understood after how we had played the last game that they were going to give us everything they had – the whole kitchen sink and the toolbox – and they did that.
“So it was a gritty win for us and we punched our ticket to the post-season.”
James is set to feature in the play-offs for the 17th time in his 21-season career.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings ended Golden State Warriors’ hopes of appearing in the play-offs with a 118-94 win.
Keegan Murray hit eight three-pointers and ended the match with 32 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, while De’Aaron Fox added 24 points.
The Kings meet the Pelicans on Saturday, with the winner securing the eighth seed and the final play-off spot in the West.
Daniel Dubois has vowed to drag Anthony Joshua into the trenches at Wembley on Saturday in the belief he has timed his showdown with his British rival to perfec
Anthony Joshua is ready to take revenge for coming off worse in a brutal sparring session against Daniel Dubois eight years ago when the British rivals clash at
Rory McIlroy finished the first round of the BMW PGA Championship two shots behind Englishman Matthew Baldwin despite a day full of calamity at Wentworth in Sur
The National League Cup, a competition between 16 fifth-tier sides and 16 Premier League 2 teams, will start next month - although four non-league clubs have op