"Tonight he was able to front-run": Skip Bayless undermines LeBron James' clutch effort after finally closing Nuggets in Game 4
LeBron James led the LA Lakers in staving off elimination at the hands of the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their playoff series on Saturday. But sports media personality Skip Bayless was less impressed by the effort of 'The King' late in the contest, suggesting there was not much into it.
The Lakers got off their bid to come back from a 0-3 series deficit on a solid note by winning Game 4, 119-108, in Los Angeles on Saturday. James showed the way for his team, finishing with a team-high 30 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter, where they held tough and frustrated the Nuggets in completing a sweep.
LeBron James and Co. had control of the match for much of the time, not allowing Denver to get make major inroads like in the previous three games.
But despite that, Skip Bayless was not totally sold on the 20-time NBA All-Star's clutch showing, highlighting how his performance was more of the team having the elbow room to do its thing than James towing the squad.
He took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:
"It was shameful that LeBron had lost 7 straight playoff games to the Nuggets -- including so many pathetic 4th quarters by him. Tonight he was able to front-run with a comfortbale lead in the 4th ... that's when he's at his greatest."
The Lakers held an 11-point cushion, 91-80, at the start of the fourth quarter, extending it to 19 points, 106-87, midway into the frame en route to the victory.
The win broke LA's 11-game losing streak to Denver, and seven straight in the playoffs.
LeBron James speaks about fourth-quarter performance in Game 4 against Nuggets
While Skip Bayless was unimpressed with LeBron James' fourth-quarter performance in the LA Lakers' Game 4 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, the 39-year-old NBA superstar basked in it, saying he lives for those moments.
The Lakers avoided being swept by the Nuggets in the postseason for the second straight year with their 119-108 victory in Game 4 in Los Angeles, to narrow their series deficit to 3-1.
LeBron James paced the team in the victory, scoring 14 of his team-high 30 points in the pivotal fourth-quarter, where they created much distance from the defending NBA champions and put the game away.
'The King' went 6-of-8 from the field in the fourth quarter to make sure they would not melt down late in the game like what they did in the previous three matches.
In the postgame press conference, James touched on the fourth quarter that he had, saying, by way of AFP:
"I love the fourth quarter. I understand it is close-out time and we haven't been able to do that versus this team through three games. So tonight I had an opportunity to do that and I wanted to deliver."
He was quick to say though that while they are happy with the win, they are not out of the woods yet and they have to conintue to play better.
LeBron James and the Lakers will try keep rolling in Game 5 on Monday in Denver.