The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-103 on Thursday night behind a superstar performance from LeBron James. This snapped a three-game losing streak and got LA their first win since Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were injured. LeBron had bought into being the third option at 41 years old, but he needs to be the alpha now. James had 26 points and took over in the fourth to lift the Lakers to a needed win.
Fans saw King James have 30 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds against the Mavericks in LA’s first game without Doncic and Reaves. Sadly, the Lakers couldn’t overcome Dallas’ hot shooting. The Lakers are using LeBron in the post more and running the offense through him. That will have to continue through the first round of the playoffs as the other two stars need time to heal.
This was a vintage LeBron performance. He finished with 26 points on 17 shots. He was making plays on defense, creating offense, and leading the Lakers on both ends of the floor. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and others. LA dominated in the second half and ran away with the win thanks to LeBron.
LeBron James had a vintage night to finally win without Luka Doncic
LeBron scored or assisted on 15 of the Lakers' first 21 points in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles put that up in just five minutes. It was a four-point game at the half and the Lakers led by nine heading into the fourth. At the midway point of the final period, the purple and gold were up 24. James led the way and made sure his Lakers got a needed win.
LeBron finished with 26 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals, and one block in 32 minutes of action. He made 11 of his 17 field goals, including hitting three 3-pointers. The Lakers outscored the Warriors by 19 with James on the floor in an incredible performance.
LeBron survived an injury scare. He appeared to hurt his hand when he smacked it off the backcourt. James went to the bench, but quickly returned. He noted it is a nagging injury. Clearly, it didn't impact him much against the Warriors.
The victory kept Los Angeles in fourth in the Western Conference with two games left in the regular season. They are tied with the Houston Rockets at 51-29, but the Lakers have the tiebreaker by winning the season series. If they win their final two games, the purple and gold will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
They will need this version of LeBron to grab the fourth seed and make noise in the playoffs. The 41-year-old can still reach those incredible heights. He hasn’t had to do it much this season with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves playing like All-Stars, but the Lakers need it now. James is surprisingly delivering and reminding LA fans of the 2020 version that helped the franchise get their 17th championship.
The Lakers are unlikely to get another title this year after the injuries. It is sadly LeBron’s best shot at another ring. Still, the Lakers looked primed to compete hard and push the Rockets in the opening round.
The Los Angeles Lakers got a prime LeBron James performance to pick up a win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. It snapped a three-game losing streak and gave fans hope for the playoffs. This version of LeBron is dangerous, but how many more games like this does James have left in him? Only time will tell, but fans should be excited after James proved he can still reach these heights.