“It was my job in the fourth quarter to bring us home and make plays” – LeBron James on how he stepped up in the clutch to guide the LA Lakers to a win
LeBron James is going to be 37 years old next month. But the LA Lakers superstar did not let his age get in the way of pulling off a comeback win for his team on Tuesday (November 2) night.
LeBron dropped 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers pulled off their third straight win with a 119-117 victory against the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. James also had 10 assists in the matchup to register a double-double.
LeBron drops 14 of his 30 points in the 4th quarter as the @Lakers win their 3rd in a row!
Anthony Davis: 27 PTS, 9 REB, 3 BLK
Russell Westbrook: 27 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST https://t.co/0oG19AFlvN
The Lakers trailed 64-70 at half-time against the Rockets. They were then down 71-81 with less than seven minutes to play in the third. But with Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis combining efficiently, the Lakers cut the deficit to just two points (87-89) at the end of the third period.
LeBron James then went ballistic as he scored ten quick points in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the final period to put the Lakers up 104-100. The Lakers never trailed after that, hanging on to win the game 119-117.
The Rockets’ Kevin Porter Jr missed a three-point shot at the end that would have given his team a good victory on the road.
Speaking on his performance that saw the Lakers move to a 5-3 regular season record, LeBron said:
“You put yourself in that position a lot of times where you know how to handle it when it’s upon you. It was my job in the fourth quarter to bring us home, make plays and to the grace of the man above, I was able to do that.”
"It was my job in the fourth quarter to bring us home and make plays." @KingJames with @LakersReporter on his dominant night (30 PTS, 10 AST, 4 REB) vs. Houston. #LakeShow https://t.co/WaNhV17JQ4
LeBron, AD and Russ combine for 84 points in Lakers win
This was a dominant performance by the Lakers superstar trio of LeBron, Davis and Westbrook. The three players combined for 84 points between them, with Carmelo Anthony once again coming good off the bench with 15 points.
Westbrook and Davis each shared an equal number of points (27) and rebounds (nine) between them. The former also managed seven assists while the latter registered three.
Lakers big three WENT OFF tonight 😤 https://t.co/GiEUcC2pIB
The game also saw LeBron move into 12th place on the NBA’s all-time steals list. Before the game, LeBron was tied with Mookie Blaylock with 2075 steals against both players’ names. But LeBron took sole charge of 12th position as he finished with two steals in the contest against Houston. LeBron now requires nine steals to move past Karl Malone for 11th place on the all-time list.
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to 12th on the all-time STEALS list! #NBA75 https://t.co/38evSvUgdf
LeBron and the Lakers will now host the OKC Thunder at home on Thursday night. The Lakers lost the previous meeting between the two teams on October 27 despite taking a 26-point lead in that game. James did not play in that matchup.