With seconds to go in overtime in Los Angeles Lakers Monday’s Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James — playing in his 45th minute — made a layup while being fouled by his first-round foil, Dillon Brooks.
Lakers shot up by five and went on to win 117-111 and take a 3-1 series lead — one win remaining to become the first No. 7 seed to beat a No. 2 seed since San Antonio in 2010.
LeBron James roared with his mouth agape, tensing his biceps – an image that will be instilled into the minds of fans from a star who finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and just one turnover.
“I felt like that play right there. I wouldn’t say, ‘closed the door,’ but it sealed it. There wasn’t much light at the end for the rest of the game. I was just letting the emotion come out.”
“I’ve done some pretty cool things in my career,” James said. “I’ve never had 20 and 20 before. So, that’s pretty cool, I guess,” James said.
LeBron James and the Lakers team are on to fuel their flame once again after a failed repeat title bid with a first-round loss in 2021 and didn’t even qualify for the postseason last year.
“These are the moments that I love. I love the postseason. I’ve been a part of a lot of the games and I just love being able to make plays and be out there with my teammates to give them experiences that they maybe never had before,” James said.
Monday’s game wouldn’t have entered overtime if not for LeBron’s game-tying layup with 0.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, finishing his drive by lofting the ball high off the glass above the Grizzlies man in the middle, Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.
“I work on different layup packages,” James explained. “Tier 1 is a layup really right under the rim where you lay it off the glass. Tier 2 is where you lay it off the middle of the glass, the middle of the square. And Tier 3 is over the square.”
The Lakers’ gameplay was all good; Anthony Davis had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Austin Reaves had the highest score with 23 points. Jarred Vanderbilt scored 15 after having only 12 in the first three games combined, while D’Angelo Russell scored 17 points before fouling out.
Russell gave nine straight on three 3s in the fourth quarter that dug L.A. out of a seven-point deficit and gave it the lead.
“I have to give a huge shoutout to D’Angelo Russell,” Ham said. “I mean, we were flailing at best offensively and he was able to catch fire and, man, he put us on [his] back offensively and put us in a position to have a chance to close the gap, eclipse it and walk away with the win. If D’Lo doesn’t play the way he played, we don’t win this game.”
