LeBron James certainly didn’t look like the NBA’s oldest active player on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star had his best performance of his young season against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena, finishing with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steals. The Lakers, who were without guard Gabe Vincent and forwards Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jared Vanderbilt, defeated 130-125 in overtime. Their Hollywood counterparts.
James played a season-high 42 minutes and scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting (1-for-2 from the free throw line) in the fourth quarter and overtime. It’s another night at the office for the four-time league MVP.
“Obviously the fourth quarter is winning time for me and I’ve been great at that position,” James told reporters after the win.
He’s not the only Laker player to thrive during this time, either. Big man Anthony Davis scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, as did guard D’Angelo Russell.
Russell’s backcourt partner Austin Reeves also made an impact, scoring or assisting nine straight points in overtime to put the Clippers in trouble – the Clippers saw Kawhi Leonard, Paul ยท George and Russell Westbrook combined to score 97 points.
Reeves, 25, scored seven of his 15 points in overtime. However, the third-year pro’s performance of the night was actually an assist. With the Lakers leading 122-119, Reeves stole the ball from Leonard as he drove to the basket, and Davis blocked the ball and tossed it to the 6-foot-5 guard.
From there, Reeves just throws the ball into the sky and James does the rest.
Now, the Lakers (3-2) look forward to a road game Saturday night against the young Orlando Magic. James admitted after a win over the Clippers that his workload Wednesday night wasn’t ideal for someone “trying to cut down on minutes,” and he’ll continue to maintain balance in helping Los Angeles keep peace in the Western Conference while making sure he’s ready On his way to his fifth NBA championship.
“I know when I’m on the floor, I can make a difference, I can bring something to our team, whether it’s offense or defense,” James said. “But as the season goes on, we’ll do a good job of just making sure we’re in the (minutes) wheelhouse where we want to be.”