Lakers outlast Timberwolves in OT, reach playoffs behind James' 30-point double-double

LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the host Los Angeles Lakers claimed the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a grueling 108-102 victory over the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA's play-in tournament Tuesday night.

Dennis Schröder scored 21 points and iced the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left for the Lakers, who will face second-seeded Memphis in the first round starting Sunday.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points and Mike Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left in regulation to tie it for the Wolves, who will host New Orleans or Oklahoma City on Friday for the eighth spot and a first-round date with top-seeded Denver beginning Sunday. The Pelicans host the Thunder on Wednesday night.

Gobert is suspended for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota's regular-season finale against New Orleans, while McDaniels is out indefinitely with a broken hand after punching a wall in frustration Sunday.

Los Angeles finally won it with defence, holding the Wolves to seven points in the final 11 minutes from midway through the fourth quarter while the Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half.

Schröder drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to play in regulation, but the Wolves forced overtime when Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 seconds left after Davis stepped on his foot after he had already released a 3-point attempt.

D'Angelo Russell had a nightmare game for Los Angeles against the team that traded him in February, scoring two points on 1-of-9 shooting with eight assists. He was benched down the stretch by Schröder, who came through tremendously.

Hawks take down Heat

Trae Young scored 25 points and Clint Capela grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 116-105 win over the host Miami Heat in a play-in game on Tuesday night.

Miami, which started Tuesday in the seventh spot, will get one more chance to make the playoffs. The Heat on Friday will play host to the winner of Wednesday's game between the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors. Either Miami, Chicago or Toronto will face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.

Young finished with eight rebounds and seven assists. The Hawks had big edges in rebounds (63-39) and paint points (64-46).

Reserve Kyle Lowry led Miami with a game-high 33 points. Tyler Herro had 26 points and Jimmy Butler added 21 points and a game-high nine assists. However, Butler was just 6-for-19 from the floor, with many of his misses influenced by Capela.

Atlanta dominated the first quarter, shooting 56 percent from the floor while holding Miami to 37.5 percent marksmanship. The Hawks ended the quarter on top, 36-27, as Young had five points and five assists.

The Hawks led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter and took a 65-50 advantage into halftime. Miami had an 11-0 run late in the second quarter, a stretch that was interrupted by two Young free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining. Young used a hesitation move to draw a foul on Max Strus.

Miami surged in the third quarter, cutting its deficit to 73-68 on a Butler layup with 6:15 remaining. But Atlanta responded, taking a 91-78 lead into the fourth.

The Heat charged back in the fourth, cutting their deficit to 97-91 on a Lowry 3-pointer with 7:42 left. But the Heat couldn't get any closer.