Watch: LeBron James stays hot from 3 after sinking a near-logo attempt
LeBron James has continued his hot streak from the 3-point range during the LA Lakers NBA In-Season tournament game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. James, who came into the game shooting nine-of-17 over the last three games, has already knocked down four-of-seven shots from the arc.
"King James" is shooting 64.7% on his first 18 attempts, scoring 28 points through three quarters. The four-time NBA MVP sent the crowd into a frenzy after making back-to-back triples. The first of the pair was a near-logo shot.
Here's the clip:
James looked uber-confident in his shot. He launched it without hesitation within the first five seconds of the shot clock. It's an encouraging sign for the Lakers, who are again one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA.
The Lakers are making 10.1 shots per contest from the arc, the second-worst in the league. They are shooting only 34.3%, which is the seventh-worst mark. It's been a trend for LA, especially in the LeBron James era.
However, the Lakers have seemingly improved in this aspect over the last few games. The new players have accustomed themselves to the early jitters of being in the Purple and Gold jersey.
Meanwhile, veterans like James and D'Angelo Russell have been on a hot streak lately.
LeBron James keeps the intensity up for NBA In-Season tournament
LeBron James made it clear that he's coming after the $500,000 price money after the LA Lakers debut NBA In-Season tournament game:
"It feels great cause it’s an In-Season tournament win… And we’d take that, we’d take that for sure," LeBron said after Lakers vs Suns. "Y’all heard, there’s $500,000 on the line. So, we going for that… We going for that.”
He's played with a different edge in this group-stage phase thus far. He has a stuffed stat sheet through three quarters against the Trail Blazers, with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists.
In the last game against the Memphis Grizzlies, James had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes. It was a blowout win, and James never returned to play in the fourth quarter.
James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the comeback win over the Phoenix Suns. He shot 11-of-17, including 3-of-4 from deep in that game.