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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Few players have played basketball as long as LeBron James, and the 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star continues to claim that no one has played the game longer at his age. .
James scored 40 points in LA's 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, joining Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 40 or more points in multiple games after age 39. James has accomplished this twice. Jordan, who played until he was 40, did it three times.
The 21-year veteran hit 13-of-17 from the floor and 9-of-10 from deep, a career-high in 3s.
“I don't need to rely on you anymore. [3-pointers] Because I can do many things. You can basically score at any level of the floor as long as you get past half court,” James said of his improved shooting skills later in his career. I was able to work on the fact that the league is changing, and this league is a 3-point shooting-heavy league.
“I'm not a player who wants to go out there and hit 12, 14, 15 threes a game. But I want to be respected and teams have to play me from the outside. It's still a team-by-team thing.” [think] … “If I had to give up something, I'd rather he shoot the ball from the outside.”
Brooklyn didn't necessarily have an open look at James. The Lakers star simply got hot and made just about everything he threw from beyond the arc. And he saved his best until the end, scoring 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting (4-of-3) in the fourth quarter, helping the Nets narrow their lead against LA from 26 at one point. After that, the match ended. Eight with 11:42 left.
“It's unbelievable,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “I told him that in the huddle before his final stretch and was able to finally get him out.” [that I was] We were very grateful that he loaded up the Cape during our expedition. All 9 of 3 were required. ”
With the win, LA moves to 3-1 on a six-game road trip that ends with back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference with seven games left in the regular season, 1.5 games behind the seventh-place Phoenix Suns.
Easter's shooting showing pushed James' 3-point percentage this season to 41.6%, a career high.
“The shots he took didn't hit the rim,” Anthony Davis said. “It's always great to watch. I mean, he scored the most points in NBA history, right? And he just keeps adding to that. But the way he shot it tonight was spectacular.”
James shot just 32.1% last season. He said the injury, which tore a tendon in his right foot in February of that year, prevented him from getting into a shooting rhythm between practices and games.
“My legs feel a lot better,” James said. “Last year, I was running around on the floor, [not] Slam your feet on the floor a lot. There were many opportunities to stand on the floor. You've probably seen me on the floor working on my game and my pieces before games. So that was very helpful as well. And try to be consistent with your shots and do the same shot every time. And just work. Just work, work, work, work. ”
When James came on late in the fourth quarter and the victory was almost sealed, he received a standing ovation from the roadside crowd and pantomimed placing a crown on his head in gratitude.
James is still playing as well as ever in some ways, so the natural question was, “How much more is he going to play?”
“It won't be that long,” James said. “It's not that long. I'm obviously over the hill. So I can't play for another 21 years, that's for sure. But it's not that long. I don't know when that will be.” is closing, but I don't have much time left. ”
