LeBron James clearly doesn’t have it every night as he approaches his 41st birthday.
But he remains capable of bringing it. The Philadelphia 76ers found out the hard way on Sunday night.
Two games later James scored eight points to break a 1,297-game double-digit game streakhe scored 10 straight points for the Lakers during the fourth quarter to lead Los Angeles to a 112–108 road victory.
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His first bucket of the run extended the Lakers’ lead to 102-98. With the game tied at 105 and 1:11 to play, James took a pass from Luka Dončić and went from 3 down to regain the Lakers lead.
On Los Angeles’ next possession with the Lakers up 3, James faced Quentin Grimes from the top of the key from beyond the 3-point line. He then drove to the left wing past the elbow and stopped for a fadeaway jumper with Grimes’ hand on his face.
The ball fell through the net for a 110-105 Lakers lead that iced the victory and stunned the Philadelphia crowd.
The bucket capped a stellar night for James in his first game since his eight-point effort in Thursday’s win over the Toronto Raptors. That night, Austin Reaves led the way with 44 points as James struggled and Dončić didn’t play.
One game away from his first single-digit score in 19 years, LeBron James had one of his best games of the season.
(Émilee Chinn via Getty Images)
Lakers stars get the job done early in the season
There were no struggles Sunday as James finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 12 of 17 from the floor and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. It was part of a balanced effort from their stars that the Lakers surely envisioned when they traded for Dončić last season.
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Doncić led the Lakers with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. But since James had the hot hand throughout the sequence, he ceded the spotlight to James to close out the 76ers. On a roster of two superstars – one in his prime and another at the end of his career – it was unclear how the on-court relationship between the two would evolve.
But the Lakers can beat their opponents in many ways and not just with Dončić and James. Reaves kept the Lakers afloat with a torrid start to the season as James and Doncic both missed time. And he kept his promises again Thursday against the Raptors.
That adds up to a 17-6 start, which is good for a tie for second place in the West with the Denver Nuggets behind the 23-1 Oklahoma City Thunder.
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The Lakers’ roster may not be as complete as its fellow Western Conference leaders. But he’s been strong enough at the top thus far to maintain the Lakers’ place among the best in the West. And he’s proven capable of winning with James in the lead or when he’s having a bad night.
