On January 17, the 38-year-old James went crazy again. He scored 48 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists in a 140-132 victory over the Rockets. James played very fiercely and staged a wonderful one-armed dunk. He scored 20 points in the final quarter and created a series of miracles.
48 points is the third time James has scored 40+ points this season, and it is also James’ highest score this season. After becoming Jordan in NBA history, another player who scored 45+ many times after the age of 38. James scored 40+ for the first time against the Rockets. Among the 30 teams in the league, only the Clippers did not score 40+.
After the age of 35, James has scored 45+ five times and ranked first in league history. Jordan ranked second three times, Crawford, Kobe, O’Neal, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and English once each.
James is still full of energy in back-to-back battles. In the last game, the Lakers lost the game because the referee missed a foul on Embiid at the last moment. James complained to the referee before the game. During this period of time, the Lakers have repeatedly lost games due to controversy. In the face of the Mavericks, Troy Brown was fouled by Tim Hardaway Jr. and did not whistle.
Lao Zhan played with anger. Facing the Rockets with the worst record in the league, James let go of his hands and feet to attack. In the first quarter, the Lakers led 37 to 35. In the second quarter, James was even more fierce, hitting 2+1, and staged another wonderful split. The Lakers took a 73-61 lead at halftime.
Rockets center Shen Jing was in a brave state in this game. He scored against James. He scored 33 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks, setting a new career high in scoring. The Rockets narrowed the score 37 to 29 in the third quarter, and the game regained suspense.
In the final quarter of the game, Lao Zhan made consecutive fouls and got to the free throw line to score. He scored 4 points in a row and made a three-pointer. The Lakers led 111 to 98 by 13 points.
Lao Zhan led the Lakers to compete with the opponent, and he went to the basket to score. The Rockets blossomed more with 5 minutes and 06 seconds left in the game, chasing the score to 116 to 119 and only 3 points behind.
James played 2+1 on the court, scored two consecutive mid-range shots, and scored 4 points with free throws. James scored 20 points in the final quarter to help the Lakers win and stop the downward trend.
Lakers coach Hamm praised Zhan Huang after the game: “This is a historical level on many different levels. All of us have witnessed it.”
James is continuing to create miracles. He didn’t make a single mistake in this battle, which is really amazing.