LeBron James stressed on the fact that they are a team and play together after his dominant display in the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers registered a 131-127 win on Saturday night to go 3-0 up in the season.
James scored 16 out of 32 points in a three-minute span as he played in beast mode. The Lakers went 21-0 in the last quarter and James was responsible for the lion’s share of the scoring.
James said it was a collective team effort and he is delighted with the team’s bright start to the season.
“Listen, I could do that at 22, but at almost 40, I don’t need to be doing it for four quarters,” James said after adding 14 rebounds and 10 assists, accounting for the 113th triple-double of his career. “I have the luxury of having a MVP-caliber player next to me [in Anthony Davis]. AR [Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches as well.
“So this team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That’s not how it’s constructed and nor should it be. We’re a team, and we all play together.”
Meanwhile, James revealed that they back Anthony Davis to take more three-point shots for the team.
“We encourage him, coaches encourage him, we as his teammates encourage him to shoot that 3 ball, and probably the biggest shot of the night is him making that 3, so it made it easy on me,” James said of Davis.
Davis, who scored 31 points, showered praise on LeBron James, tipping him as the greatest.
“Just when you think he’s slowing down, man, he continues to show the world why he’s the greatest,” Davis said of James. “To go on that stretch, he actually looked to the bench and was trying to come out the game. We told him, ‘You’re not coming out.’ He comes out and hits another 3. He never ceases to amaze any of us because we just know what he’s capable of and what he’s able to do.”
The Lakers will next take on the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
