LeBron James had a dominant performance this Saturday, with a triple double of 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, and gave the Los Angeles Lakers an epic 145-144 victory at the Golden State Warriors' field after two overtimes.
LeBron, 39, played 47.40 minutes at the Chase Center, got and scored two free kicks with one second left to decide the game, in his 50th matchup with Steph Curry.
The duel between two NBA legends, both four-time champions, ended with LeBron winning, although Steph Curry stood out for the Warriors with 46 points and nine three-pointers. LeBron finished 14 of 25 on field goals, two of four on three-pointers and a perfect six of six from the free throw line. Steph scored 17 of his 35 field goals, with 9 of 21 on three-pointers, to which he added three rebounds and seven assists.
The Warriors had a fifteen-point lead at 88-73 in the third period, but were on the verge of losing the game in the fourth, due to the Lakers' comeback. It was Curry, with a saving layup, to force overtime.
The game did not look good for the Lakers when Klay Thompson hit a great triple to tie it at 130 and force a second overtime. In fact, the Warriors tasted victory when Curry, with six seconds left, scored another magnificent triple to give his team a 144-143 lead.
But the last word was for LeBron. He received the ball and attacked the basket, forcing a foul by Draymond Green. He didn't tremble from the foul line. He connected both and forced Curry to attempt a three-pointer from his half of the field, with the ball that did not reach the rim.
LeBron ended up receiving congratulations and hugs from all his teammates. Anthony Davis scored 29 points and grabbed thirteen rebounds and D'Angelo Russell contributed 28 points.
For the Warriors, Klay Thompson scored 24 points, while Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins scored 22 each.
LeBron James claimed his crown this Saturday with a memorable performance on the Warriors' field, after two overtimes, on an NBA night in which the Los Angeles Clippers came out strong during their visit to the TD Garden in Boston.
The Angelenos do not stop stepping on the accelerator and only conceded 96 points to the Celtics who had just crushed the Heat at home. Kawhi Leonard was the leading scorer with 26 points and Daniel Theis, formerly of the Celtics, returned to the TD Garden with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Celtics were only 36% accurate on field goals. Jayson Tatum's double double of 21 points and eleven rebounds was not enough to contain the Clippers, who have won 22 of their last 26 games.
Just 24 hours after scoring 73 points against the Hawks, Luka Doncic achieved a triple double of 28 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists, but his Mavericks lost at home to the Kings. De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 34 points to give them their third straight victory.
The Serbian Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets this Saturday with a double double of 26 points and 16 rebounds over a 76ers without Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey. What was going to be a duel between the winners of the last three MVP awards, Jokic (2021 and 2022) and Embiid (2023), was finally not seen on the Denver court as the Cameroonian center of the 76ers was absent due to some discomfort on the left knee. Embiid was coming off an extraordinary, but demanding week, in which he scored 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs.
