The Los Angeles Lakers (42-33) beat the Brooklyn Nets (29-46) 116:104 (31:11, 36:33, 23:35, 26:25) on the road.
L. James scored 40 points for the winners, hitting 9 out of 10 three-pointers. 9 long shots, a career high. Together, the forward joined Mr. Jordan as the only two to score 40 points more than once at the age of 39. L. James has now managed to do that twice, M. Jordan – three times.
After such a performance, the veteran was left to joke.
“I definitely won’t be playing for another 21 years, I’m sure of that. I don’t know when this door will open, but I don’t have much time,” he said after the match.
James is averaging 25.4 points this season and the Lakers have been in great form lately, winning six of their last seven games.
The Nets players didn’t have much chance either – they started the game by missing 11 first shots from the game, and after the first shot, the teams were already separated by an obscene difference – the Lakers crushed their opponents 24-4.
The biggest difference between the teams was 26 points, and the Brooklyn Nets were never able to get back into the fight. For the Los Angeles team, the reserve players scored just two points in this meeting.
Nets: C. Thomas 30, D. Schroder 14, M. Bridges 13, N. Claxton 10.
Lakers: L. James 40, A. Davis 24 (14 off), R. Hachimura 20 (10 off), D. Russell 18, A. Reaves 12.
