LeBron James scored a season-high 56 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 124-116 on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak
Despite being third in NBA history in scoring fast and closing in second place over Karl Malone, LeBron James has never been thought of as a pure scorer.
On Saturday night, James showed that he is still capable of accumulating points in a variety of ways.
James scored a season-high 56 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 124–116 to break a four-game losing streak. This was his third-highest number of points in regular season games and the 13th time he had at least 50 points.
James, who scored a career-best 61 for Miami against Charlotte in 2014, said, "I felt great with my game tonight, every part of the floor and I was able to make some plays to help us win. Was."
While James reduced his 31 to 31 shoots, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, with three consecutive leads to take the Lakers to 100–97 in the fourth quarter, friend and foe his performances. were ready to praise.
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony said, "He was fantastic tonight, with 14 points." There's a big reason for what he did. He has us on his back tonight."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, "He's clearly coming downhill like this a handful of times, and then when he's driving his 3-point shot into the second half, it's enough to try and protect him." gets tough." "He was fantastic tonight. LeBron was amazing."
Anthony completed a three-point play to give the Lakers a 114–112 lead with 3:29, and Malik Monk extended that lead to five with 3 hits when Austin Reeves stole Curry's pass. James then threw a thunderous alley off Monk, who stole the inbound pass after being traded to Los Angeles.
Stephen Curry cut it 119-116 with 1:06, but Reeves caught the offensive rebound and Anthony hit a 3 in a corner, allowing the Lakers to see it.
Curry had 30 for Golden State, and Jordan Poole added 23. The Warriors have lost four straight to fall to third place overall in the NBA, half a game behind Memphis and 8 1/2 games behind Phoenix.
“There are more games coming, so we have to do it ourselves. We have to get out of the mud, and no one is going to help us,” Kerr said.
Golden State scored 42 points in the second quarter to take a 67-62 halftime lead over Los Angeles. Poole and Jonathan Cuminga each had eight points, Curry added seven, and the Warriors made 69.6% (16 of 23) of their shots from the field and 75% from 3-point range (6 of 8). But he closed the Lakers halfway at 11-2, and Kerr lamented his inability to maintain the separation.
"It's been a pattern for us during this bad phase," Kerr said. “We are not stepping on teams when they are down. We're making mistakes and letting teams move around, and when you do that in this league you're dead. ,
Plenty in the tank
James had 30 points in the second half, surpassing Malone for most minutes played in NBA history, including the playoffs. It was his 24th straight game with at least 25 points to continue the longest streak of James's illustrious career.
"When they have that going on, there's really no one on their team that can do anything about it," said Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, who scored 20. "Tonight, he forced his will and got his hands on the game at all levels. It was really huge, especially tonight in games like this where we needed to win."
Work to do
Klay Thompson worked hard for the second straight game after returning from non-Covid-19 illness, scoring seven points in 31 minutes shooting 3 of 13.
"Clay pressure," said Kerr. "I think the illness has probably affected his conditioning and his timing, so he has struggled in the last two games. And he will take it back."
Stay back
Kerr said Curry, Thompson and Andrew Wiggins will be among several Golden State players who will not travel to play in Denver on Monday.
Tip-ins
Cuminga finished with 18 points. ... Lakers G. Avery Bradley returned after missing five games with a right knee injury. He didn't score in 16 minutes... Lakers g Talen Horton Tucker went to two points in 18 minutes after missing out on Thursday against the Clippers due to a sprained left ankle. ... Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl winning QB Matthew Stafford watched the game with his wife from courtside seats, while longtime Lakers coach Phil Jackson took it from a suit.
Next
Warriors: Monday night in Denver.
Lakers: Monday night in San Antonio.