PHILADELPHIA — A game after he failed to reach 10 points for the first time in 17 years, LeBron James turned back the clock to score 10 straight points in the fourth quarter alone to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
“At 40 years old, I mean, it just takes a while for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good tonight to kind of feel like myself a little bit.”
In Toronto on Thursday, he looked every bit of those 40 years, missing 13 of the 17 shots he took as his record streak of 1,297 games in double-digit scoring was snapped — albeit in poetic fashion with James finding Rui Hachimura with a game-winning assist at the buzzer.
Against Philadelphia, he looked like his old self, scoring a season-high 29 points while shooting 12-for-17 from the floor, with seven rebounds, six assists and a steal to thwart the Sixers’ final offensive possession for the finishing touch.
“I do think it’s important to be reminded every now and then of what you’re capable of,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Said Sixers coach Nick Nurse: “He’s done that a time or two in his life, right?”
The game provided plenty of reminders of just how long James has been at the top of the sport.
The 76ers were playing in their black throwback uniforms made popular by franchise legend Allen Iverson. The same style uniforms that Philadelphia wore as its standard set when James entered the NBA in 2003.
And after James made a fadeaway 20-footer with 27.4 seconds remaining to put the Lakers up by five — his fourth straight jump shot — he paraded down the court in a building, Xfinity Mobile Arena, that’s had four different title sponsors since he was drafted into the league.
That last jumper caused the Sixers to call timeout and James combined a recent signature celebration — pantomiming placing a crown on his head — with a tried and true one, “the silencer” — pounding his chest and then pushing both hands towards the floor while taking exaggerated steps.
“I meshed it for the first time in my life,” James told Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell of the new-look celebration in the on-court walk-off interview.
And James, playing in just his seventh game of the season after missing all of training camp, all of the preseason and the first 14 games of the regular season because of sciatica affecting his lower back and down the right side of his body, meshed perfectly with L.A.’s star backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on a night they needed it.
Doncic had just taken a transatlantic from Slovenia to Philadelphia to rejoin the team after a two-game absence to be with his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, for the birth of their second daughter, Olivia.
And Reaves, who came into the night averaging a career-best 29.3 points per game, endured a rare rough outing, going 3-for-16 from the floor.
“I felt like the opportunity kind of presented itself,” James said. “I felt like my two heavy hitters kind of didn’t have it or needed a little kick and I tried to punch in from there.”
The effort was appreciated.
“I mean, that was amazing,” Doncic said. “That was vintage Bron. We’re happy he was there to save us.”
Lakers center Deandre Ayton scored 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting with 12 rebounds and helped limit Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid to just 4-for-21 shooting, but all he wanted to talk about was James.
“It was like a movie,” Ayton said. “Ever watch a movie? Felt like a movie. I was in the movie.”
Meanwhile, it felt like a whirlwind for Doncic, who made his first comments to reporters since taking a 12-hour flight from L.A. to his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia on Tuesday and then another lengthy trip back to the United States on Saturday.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Doncic said. “It was a lot. I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.”
While Doncic had to leave his family to go back to work — “It’s a job, so I got to do it,” Doncic said — James’ 21-year-old son, Bronny, was on the bench suited up for the Lakers as his dad went off in Philadelphia.
A weary Doncic still managed to post a triple-double with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, even if he shot 9-for-24 with five turnovers. At just 26 years old, there will be plenty more nights for him where he is the hero in closing time like James was.
For James, the only player in league history to play 23 seasons, opportunities like Sunday are becoming ever precious.
“I’ve had so many of those moments that it never gets old,” James said. “And that’s the one thing you won’t be able to get back when you’re done playing is that arena. That excitement of going out — and either the excitement or the boos and the cheers or whatever the case may be. You’ll never be able to get that back once you’re done playing.”
The win lifted the Lakers’ record to 17-6, No. 2 in the Western Conference, and James’ career win total in the regular season to 1,015, moving past Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Robert Parish for No. 2 all-time.
It was the Lakers’ first victory in Philadelphia since 2017 — when James still played for Cleveland.
“To do it [and go on scoring spree] in a win is even more important,” James said. “To be able to come up clutch in a win, that’s even more exciting.”
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.