SAN FRANCISCO — LeBron James dribbled down the court on a one-man fast break before beating several Golden State defenders for an and-1 layup on the Warriors' vivid yellow court midway through the third quarter.
The scene, which Bay Area fans had seen dozens of times over the past decade, played out again on Christmas Day as James faced Olympic teammate Steph Curry and the Warriors.
After the Lakers withstood a last-second Curry bombardment and got a layup from Austin Reaves to win 115-113, James sat at his locker and had a succinct answer for why fans should hearken to the NBA within the midst of a rankings crisis .
“LeBron and Steph,” James said.
After James scored 31 points on Christmas Day and Curry starred in 38, it's hard to argue with the league's all-time leading scorer. But how long will it stay that way?
Although the teams will meet three more times throughout the regular season, the Lakers won a game that would go down in history as James' final Christmas Day showdown with Curry.
“I’m just enjoying the moment and being grateful,” James said. “I’m very grateful to give you the option to play the sport I really like on such an exquisite day. I had the luxurious of, I feel, playing for the nineteenth time on Christmas today. So you already know it doesn't come naturally to me to go up against one in every of the best players of all time and one in every of the best franchises since I've been within the league.”
Since James, who turns 40 on Dec. 30, has made public statements hinting at retirement over the past year, both he and the Lakers organization know that games like Wednesday's should be cherished.
“It was great and it was different,” Lakers coach JJ Reddick said. “Part of it is just him enjoying the moment. There aren’t many of those left, and that’s just the reality.”
The Lakers secured the win when Austin Reaves made a layup with one second left in the game. That shot came just six seconds after Curry made his second three-pointer in the final 12 seconds, a three-pointer that left James both angry and stunned.
“You have to take your hat off because he is a great player and you just have to take your hat off,” James said. “You feel like, '(expletive), in comparison with us, why?' But as a fan, you're like, 'How did he do this?' because he's special. You definitely have an appreciation for it.”
What was once a perennial Christmas Day barnburner from 2015 to 2018 has been renewed after a six-year hiatus.
On a day when the NFL aired two bloopers, James and Curry were the celebs of the NBA's signature Christmas spectacle. Again.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” James said on ESPN after winning his record-tying eleventh Christmas game.
James' Cleveland Cavaliers and Curry's Warriors met in 4 consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2018, with the Warriors winning all but 2016, when James and Co. famously got here back from a 3-1 deficit to assert the primary and only title of the season Secured franchise.
Since then, the James-led Lakers have defeated the Warriors within the 2021 Play-In Tournament and the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals.
While the Lakers' win definitely didn't carry the stakes of that playoff series or the Finals of the late 2010s – the Lakers (17-13) and Warriors (15-14) are the seventh and eighth seeds within the Western Conference – , he didn't lack intensity.
After Anthony Davis left the sport with a sprained ankle in the primary quarter, the Lakers' ageless superstar needed to placed on a classic King James performance, scoring 31 points and providing 10 assists, just two days after posting a 28-point triple-double The Pistons had assembled against him.
The Lakers' lineup late in the primary quarter – young players Christian Koloko and rookie Dalton Knecht paired with mediocre veterans Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish – was a setback for James' lack of a supporting solid in among the aforementioned Finals.
But that was just for a fleeting moment. Reaves began within the absence of injured guard and former Warrior D'Angelo Russell. He posted a 26-point triple-double and scored the ultimate 4 points to offer James the assistance he needed.
“It came to a hand that we trust,” said James, describing the last move. “The piece was designed for me and they doubled me in the top key, and it's always great to have great options on the floor at the same time. AR was in that position.”
James increased his Christmas Day points record (507) and games played (19).
How many more Christmas games will James play within the Bay Area against his team's superstar guard? That still must be clarified. But if this really was James and Curry's final duel on December twenty fifth, the pair's legacy is ironclad.
“Just like Magic and Larry in the 1980s and MJ in the 1990s and Kobe for a long time, they led the league in some ways,” Lakers coach JJ Reddick said. “The popularity, the growth and all of that is a big part of it.”
Originally published:
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