LeBron James knew his record streak of double-digit scoring games was in jeopardy. And at the moment he didn't care.
The right play was to pass the ball, and he did that. And that's where his streak ended.
James' streak of 1,297 consecutive double-digit regular-season scoring goals ended Thursday night when the NBA's points leader was held to eight points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 123-120 win over the Toronto Raptors. He made the winning assist on Rui Hachimura's 3-pointer as time expired.
Afterwards, he was asked what he thought about the end of the series.
“None,” said James. “We won.”
James could have tried to win the game – and extend the streak – on the final possession, but instead he passed to Hachimura in the left corner. Hachimura connected and James threw his arms up in celebration.
“Just play the right way. You always play the right way,” James said. “That's just my MO. That's how I was taught to play. I've done that my whole career.”
“LeBron is very aware of how many points he has at this point,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He did it like he’s done so many times.”
James returned to the game for the final time Thursday with 5:23 left, the result and the series hanging in the balance. At that time, he had six points on 3-of-15 shooting.
He scored with 1:46 left in the game and missed a 14-foot shot with 1:01 left that would have put him within double figures.
He didn't take another shot – but he could have. Austin Reaves gave James the ball with a few seconds left, but James decided to pass instead.
“The basketball gods, if you do it right, they tend to reward you,” Redick said.
James' streak began on January 6, 2007. It was by far the longest such streak in history. NBA History: Michael Jordan had 866 consecutive games with double-digit scoring, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 787, and Karl Malone had the fourth-longest streak with 575.
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“He's such an unselfish player,” Lakers center Jake LaRavia said.
“He just plays basketball. He had an opportunity, but because of the type of player he is and because of who he is as a person, he made an unselfish play, handed it to Rui, and we won the game.”
Usually this was thought about long before the start of the fourth quarter. During James' streak, he has reached the 10-point mark by the start of the fourth quarter 1,266 times since Thursday.
But two of those single-digit games in three quarters came in the last week or so: He had nine points in Game 4 against Dallas on Nov. 28 and then six points in Game 4 against Phoenix on Monday night.
James managed to extend his streak against the Suns. One game later, the job was done—and he celebrated anyway.
“I always make the right play. It's automatic: win, lose or draw,” James said. “You play right, the gods of the game always give me credit.”
