LeBron James ices the 76ers with 10 consecutive 4Q points including the last-minute dagger to clinch the victory for the Lakers
LeBron James clearly doesn’t have it every night as he approaches 41 years old.
But he remains able to carry it. The Philadelphia 76ers found that out the hard way Sunday night.
Two games after James scored eight points to end a 1,297-game hitting streak in double figures, he scored 10 straight Lakers points in the fourth quarter to lead Los Angeles to a 112-108 road victory.
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His first series drive extended the Lakers’ lead to 102-98. With the game tied at 105 and 1:11 remaining, James took a pass from Luka Dončić and rallied from a 3 to retake the lead for the Lakers.
On Los Angeles’ next possession with the Lakers up by 3, James tackled Quentin Grimes from the top of the key beyond the 3-point line. Then he drove to the left wing past the elbow and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper with Grimes’ hand in his face.
The ball sailed into 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 while James struggled and Dončić didn’t play.
One game away from his first single-digit goal in 19 years, LeBron James had one of his best games of the season.
(Emilee Chinn via Getty Images)
The Lakers’ stars are getting the job done early in the season
There were no struggles on 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 by their stars that the Lakers surely envisioned when they traded for Dončić last season.
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Dončić led the Lakers with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. But since James had the hot hand down the stretch, he ceded the spotlight to James to shut down the 76ers. On a roster with two superstars – one in his prime and another in the final stages 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 sizzling early-season run while James and Dončić both missed time. And he did it again on Thursday against the Raptors.
Add to that a 17-6 start which is good for second place in the West with the Denver Nuggets trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder 23-1.
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The Lakers’ roster may not be as complete as the other Western Conference leaders. But so far he’s been strong enough at the top 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.