Make no mistake, LeBron James isn’t a stranger to clutch moments in crunch time. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 104-99 on Saturday, and James’ 21 points helped pave the way to the fifth consecutive victory for the Lakers.
With 38 seconds remaining and Los Angeles up by one point against the Western Conference foe, James pulled up at the top of the key to drain a huge three. He managed to pull an “oldie but goodie” celebration out after the shot went in, sparking excitement among the fans at Smoothie King Center.
James hasn’t displayed the “silencer” pose in quite some time, but the King felt the need for it to return on Saturday.
The Lakers played well once again as a collective unit. They shot 43.8 percent from the field, and knocked down 12 threes. Anthony Davis continued to play like the superstar that they need him to be, recording his third 30-plus point game in his last five appearances. It was also a career-best night for rookie sensation Dalton Knecht, who finished with 27 points and five threes.
LeBron James delivers for Lakers in fourth quarter
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Despite turning 40 at the end of December, James is still proving that his clutch gene hasn’t gone anywhere. The Lakers have a quality roster, and some solid depth to work with that’s finally taking shape, but James isn’t taking his foot off the gas in pursuit of another NBA Finals. And in the final minutes on Saturday night, he made it clear that he’s still the most reliable scorer down the stretch no matter the team that he’s on.
Averaging 23.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.2 assists with five triple-doubles, James and the Lakers improve to 9-4 under head coach JJ Redick, and will battle the Utah Jazz back at home on Tuesday for an NBA Cup matchup.
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