James stars as Lakers set up Thunder showdown

Breaking news from the world of sport: James stars as Lakers set up Thunder showdown Image source, Getty Images Image caption, LeBron James is the NBA's all-time record points scorer Published 9 minutes ago LeBron James scored 28 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets to set up a Western Conference semi-final play-off against reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder. James also added seven rebounds and eight assists to help the Lakers to a 98-78 victory, which secured a 4-2 series win against the Rockets. The Lakers had led the series 3-0 and finally closed out the best-of-seven contest in convincing style away at Houston, whose top scorer was Amen Thompson with 18 points.

"A lot of our guys, quite frankly, have not been in this position, have not been in a close-out situation, especially on the road, so it was important for me to go out and set the tone," said 41-year-old James. Lakers coach JJ Redick was full of admiration for the performance of James, who is the first player to take part in 23 consecutive NBA seasons and is also the league's record points scorer. "To me, he's had the greatest career of any NBA player," said Redick.

Match Details

"You can argue all you want; I don't care to postulate on who's the greatest of all time. "He's one of, if not the greatest of all time, and for him to do it again and answer the bell again, it's baffling in some ways. " The Lakers face a tough task against the Thunder, who finished top of the Western Conference and secured a 4-0 series win against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA play-offs.

The first game of their best-of-seven series is in Oklahoma on Tuesday. Pistons and Raptors set up deciders Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons, who finished top of the Eastern Conference, produced a stunning comeback to beat the Orlando Magic 93-79 to level their first-round series at 3-3 and set up a deciding game seven. Detroit had trailed by as much as 24 points in game six, with the Magic having led 62-38 early in the third quarter when they looked to have moved themselves to the brink of a first play-off series win since 2010.

But Orlando missed 23 consecutive field goals and the Pistons, who were 3-1 down in the series, took full advantage to force a seventh game.. "Never say die, simple as that," said Detroit's Cade Cunningham, who top scored in the match with 32 points. "I mean, Detroit grit, it's what we've been talking about all year.

Reactions and Expectations

" The final game of the series will be on Sunday in Detroit and the winner will play either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors, whose first-round play-off will also go to a deciding game seven. RJ Barrett sank a three-pointer, which hit the rim of the basket and looped up in the air before dropping in, with 1. 2 seconds left in overtime to give the Raptors a dramatic 112-110 victory in game six as they levelled the series at 3-3.

The home side has won each game so far and the decider will be in Cleveland on Sunday.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.