Before the game against the Kings, the Lakers had already won back-to-back games over the Trail Blazers and Timberwolves to achieve two long-lost wins, while their opponents in this game, the Kings, hoped to win two straight games in this game. In the first quarter, the Kings had a very good start, and as the two sides came and went in the second quarter, the Kings were still two points ahead of their opponents at the end of the first half.
In the second half of the game, the Lakers blossomed more and completed the counterattack against the opponent in one fell swoop, leading by 2 points at the end of the third quarter. In the crucial final quarter, the Kings played an 11-0 climax at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and gradually widened the point difference while reversing the score. At the critical moment, the Lakers relied on James and Munch to chase points continuously, and at the same time completely locked in the victory at the same time as achieving the score reversal in the last moment, winning three consecutive wins at the same time, it was also the Kings who did not have two consecutive wins.
Throughout the game, the biggest contributor to the Lakers' win is undoubtedly their team boss James, who played 37 minutes in this game, scoring 31 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 12 of 26 three-pointers. In the first half of the game, James has already shown a very hot state, scoring 13 points from inside and outside. Although James scored only 4 points in the third quarter of the game, he only scored 4 points on 4-of-4 shots, but in the final quarter of the showdown, James scored 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists to help the team complete the reversal and finally lock up the victory.
James showed a strong heart at key moments, scoring 14 points in a single quarter while also showing great dominance in the last five minutes. In the final five minutes of the game, James first hit two consecutive dry three-pointers to help the team tighten the score, and then assisted Munch to hit a three-pointer to reverse the score after attracting defense. When the Lakers led by 2 points after this round, James named Hield to kill the basket, although the first shot was not able to hit, but he quickly grabbed the rebound, facing the defense of the two men to score the ball strongly, expanding the team's lead.
James's performance is not over, in the last minute of the game, the Lakers, who lead by 4 points, still have the possibility of being reversed by their opponents. At this time, James stood up again, directly at the top of the arc to hit the basket, facing the multi-person defense while scoring the ball while also causing the opponent's foul, this time the goal completely ignited the atmosphere of the Lakers' home fans, and sent him a deafening MVP call. Although the penalty failed to hit, after James boosted the morale of the team, the Kings had no power to turn the tables. With James's inexplicable performance in the last moments, the Lakers also won this precious victory.
After scoring 31 points in this game, according to statistics, James has averaged 34.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks in the past 9 games, and the shooting rate is as high as 55%. It is worth mentioning that a large part of the reason why James was able to play such a good performance was due to the accidental injury of Davis, one of the giants of the team, which forced James to take on the responsibility of carrying the team forward. Although the Lakers had a poor record in the early days of Davis' absence, the Lakers have swept away the decline and won three consecutive games under the continuous performance of James, and are currently temporarily in the seventh position in the West.
According to statistics, as of now, the 37-year-old James can average 28.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, shooting 52% from the field and 37% from three-point range, of which the average score per game has even set a fourth-highest level since his career. Especially since Davis missed a few games, James has maintained an extremely hot state, scoring 30+ in 8 of these 9 games, and has scored 30+ in 16 games since this season, ranking first in the league.
As can be seen from James' playing style this season, the reason why he can still play such a crazy performance at the age of 37 is inseparable from the change in his playing style. On the one hand, this season's James has taken on more responsibility for the team's fifth position after the Lakers changed to a small lineup, which also means that James's shots under the basket have become more direct shots and second attacks to receive teammates' passes, which will undoubtedly improve James' shooting rate under the basket to a certain extent. Coupled with the fact that the team currently has a passing master like Westbrook, James is often able to easily eat cake and score points under the basket.
On the other hand, due to the current gradual aging, James is increasingly relying on shots from the outside, and such a style of play can greatly reduce his physical consumption. So far this season, James has averaged eight three-pointers per game and has been able to hit three of them, setting a career-high for both shots and hits. In addition to extending the career, the benefit of this also provides more offensive options for the Lakers this season, and the space-type interior line is a great help to open up the team's offensive space. In addition, the increase in outside shots also makes James key to being more threatening.
James of this game showed a good change in his playing style in the final five minutes, and proved that there was a stronger threat in doing so. In the final moments of the game, James had both a three-point shot and a second offense, as well as a strong layup that broke into the inside line, which made the Kings powerless. This is the important secret to the fact that the current 37-year-old James can play such a great performance, which is also the change he has made to extend his career.
However, after Davis was injured, James' playing time has improved greatly compared to the past in order to let the team win more games, and in the last 9 games, James has played 40 minutes in four games, which is also rare in his entire career. And for James, who is now 37 years old and has suffered many injuries, it is indeed a big hidden danger. Therefore, before Davis can officially return, the other players of the Lakers must stand up and take on more pressure for James.