NBA season to express gratitude
On Thanksgiving, we talked about all the things we’re thankful for this NBA season.
One of LeBron James’ great streaks has come to an end, and he missed a chance to extend it.
James did not score in double figures in a regular season game for the first time in nearly 19 years, and his streak of consecutive games with 10 or more points stopped at 1,297 games.
On Thursday, December 4, James scored eight points in a 123–120 victory over the Toronto Raptors. With the game tied at 120 and seconds left in the game, James had the ball in his hands and drove through the middle of the paint. But instead of taking a shot, James fired a pass into the left corner, where a wide-open Rui Hachimura made the winning 3-pointer.
“LeBron is very aware of how many points he has at that point,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters after the game. “And I remember him being ridiculed early on for making the right play and letting his teammates shoot the game-winner, as he has done so many times in his career, but he did it, as he has done so many times in his career.
“I knew this was a good idea the moment I took it out of Louis-san’s hands.”
When asked how he felt about the winning streak coming to an end, James shrugged it off.
“Nothing,” James said firmly. “We won.”
Seconds after the end of the game, an exuberant James raised his hands in the air before joining the rest of his teammates to celebrate the winning shot.
“The basketball gods tend to reward you if you do it the right way,” Reddick said.
The last time James scored fewer than 10 points in a game was on January 5, 2007. Since then, he has set a streak that spanned five different presidential administrations, beginning with his 19 points against the New Jersey Nets on January 6 of that year.
Apple released the original iPhone in June 2007. That means James’ work predates ubiquitous devices. At the start of the streak, Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” was the only song to top the Billboard Hot 100. His son and current teammate, Bronny James, was 2 1/2 years old.
Michael Jordan ranks second with 866 consecutive games scoring 10 or more points.
The new record for longest consecutive game is now 267 games played by Kevin Durant. This is one of James’ records that will not be broken for a long time.
James finished the game making 4-of-17 shots from the floor, but missed any of his five 3-point attempts. He also recorded 11 assists and six rebounds, helping the Lakers improve to 16-5 and second place in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles was playing without Luka Doncic, who is away for personal reasons.
“Just playing the game the right way,” James said. “That was my MO. That’s how I was taught the game. That’s how I’ve been throughout my career. There was no second guessing there.”
LeBron James stats vs. Raptors
- point: 8
- FG: 17-4 (3-5-0)
- free throw: 0 to 0
- rebound: 6
- assist: 11
- Things to steal: 0
- block: 0
- Sales: 0
- foul: 1
- Minutes: 36
Lakers vs. Raptors Highlights
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