WATCH: Will Ferrell shows appreciation for LeBron James' vintage pass as crowd erupts
LeBron James did more than drain 25 points in the LA Lakers' 127-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday. One of his assists to Jarred Vanderbilt that resulted in a bucket saw the crowd erupt.
Among them was American actor and comedian Will Ferrell, who loved the 4x NBA champion's move and was captured on camera pumping his fist in the air. The assist was one of James's eight dimes as the Lakers put on another win on the trot.
Ferrell, dressed in a black jacket and purple and gold beanie, had a serious expression when he put his fist up in the air, but there was no doubt that he was giving James his props.
With 7:56 left in the fourth quarter, Christian Wood collected a rebound and passed it on to D'Angelo Russell, who fired it across to James. The 39-year-old saw Vanderbilt racing alongside and made a pinpoint bounce pass to him that shot between Kyrie Irving and Maxi Kleber. The forward collected the perfect pass and slammed it in to help LA go up 111-89.
LeBron James ended his evening with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Anthony Davis had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists. D'Angelo Russell, back in the starting lineup, topped with 29 points, 4 boards, and 3 assists. The Lakers bench contributed 22 points.
For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic propped up a triple-double with 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Irving had a quiet day with 12 points.
The win put the Lakers back on .500 as they now have 21 wins and as many losses. They are now tenth in a stacked Western Conference below the Utah Jazz, who had their game against the Golden State Warriors postponed after the latter's assistant coach Dejan Milojevc was hospitalized due to a medical emergency, and later passed away at 46.
LeBron James and the Lakers are back to winning ways, but can they hold on to the momentum?
With their dominant win against the Mavericks, the Lakers have won consecutive games, which they last did on December 12. They are now 4-2 in their last six games after losing 10 of their previous 13 — a derailing that's threatened their campaign. While this latest win gets them in a better position, the side is still far from a playoff berth with 42 games left in the season.
In the last five games, D'Angelo Russell has averaged 19.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. Austin Reaves has shown flashes of brilliance to be the team's spark when they need it. The question is whether they will be able to hang on to the momentum on their side.
Their next slate of games is a tricky affair where they play three playoff contenders: the Brooklyn Nets, LA Clippers (listed as an away), and the Chicago Bulls. All three sides have made a surge and only time will tell if LeBron James and the Lakers can keep up the winning run.