LeBron James launched into a three-pointer from the other side of the court, the ball spinning perfectly in the Friday night air, before crossing the net. As he ran onto the field, he shook his head and gritted his teeth.
Then, James came to the right block, the Atlanta defender on his back, before turning and launching a mid-range jumper. After a stop, he took another step toward the Atlanta bench, returned to almost the same spot, spun and launched another fade, outrunning the Hawks as their coach, Quin Snyder, frustratedly called for a time died in an attempt to put an end to it.
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One day later James scored 38 points to direct the Lakers After a short-handed victory against Portland, he did it again, this time against a dangerous Atlanta team. Seemingly ageless against a parade of young, athletic, long wings trying helplessly to stop him, James led the Lakers to a Victory 119-102 – their 20th of the season.
James’ 30 points – the last two of which forced Snyder into that late timeout – gave him his 563rd 30-point game, one more than Michael Jordan for the most in NBA history.
James, who played without Anthony Davis against Portland, Davis picked up Friday. Davis scored 18 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, anchoring a terrific defensive performance.
Austin Reaves scored 20 goals with seven rebounds and six assists, and Rui Hachimura And Dalton Knecht each added 13. Dorian Finney Smith also made a pair of corner threes en route to eight points coming off the bench.
The win, the Lakers’ seventh in their last nine games, was one of the team’s best overall performances outside of 19 turnovers against Atlanta’s aggressive perimeter defense.
While Trae Young scored 33 points, Max Christie harassed him for most of the game. The Lakers held Atlanta to just six of 34 shooting from three while outscoring Atlanta by 17.
The Lakers now head to Texas for two tough games, first against Houston on Sunday, then against Dallas on Tuesday before returning to Los Angeles for their next eight games (seven at home and their first at the Intuit Dome).
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
