For LeBron James, the win was more important than the streak.
James’ NBA-record streak of 1,297 consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points ended Thursday night in Toronto, and he was the one who made the decision to end it. Instead of trying to score to win the match – and extend his streak – he set up Rui Hachimura for the final shot.
Hachimura connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer James got the game-winning assist, and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Raptors 123-120. James finished with eight points and had no regrets.
“None,” James said. “We won.”
James’ streak started on January 6, 2007 and lasted almost twenty years. It was by far the longest streak in NBA history: Michael Jordan had 866 consecutive double-digit scoring games, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was third with 787 games and Karl Malone had the fourth-longest streak with 575.
James was fully aware that if Hachimura scored, the streak would end. But Hachimura gave the Lakers the best chance to win at that moment, James thought. And James didn’t hesitate to fire the pass.
“Just play the game the right way. You always play the right game,” James said. “That’s just been my MO. That’s how I learned the game. I’ve done that my whole career.”
James checked into the game for the final time Thursday with 5:23 to go, with the outcome and the streak hanging in the balance.
He had six points on 3-of-15 shooting at the time. He scored with 1:46 left to tie the game and missed a 14-footer with 1:01 left that would have put him in double figures.
He didn’t get a second chance, but he could have. Lakers guard Austin Reaves gave James the ball with a few seconds left, but James was happy with the assist.
“LeBron is very aware of how many points he has at that moment,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He did it like he’s done so many times before. … The basketball gods, if you do it the right way, they tend to reward you.”
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The last time James was held under 10 points in the regular season was Jan. 5, 2007, when he had eight points for Cleveland in a 95-86 win over Milwaukee. The next night he had nineteen against New Jersey, and the streak continued ever since.
“You tip your hat to someone who only cares about winning and making the right play,” Reaves said. “That’s what he’s done his entire career.”
James was held under 10 points twice during the regular season streak in the playoffs, once in 2011 and again in 2014. Jordan still has the longest streak, counting the playoffs, of double-digit scoring games with 1,045.
Including the playoffs, James’ streak ended at 865 consecutive 10-point games.
It would take a very long time for anyone to match James’ regular season total. Houston’s Kevin Durant now has the longest streak at 267 games, meaning he’ll have to play until he’s at least 49 to break the record. The second-longest streak belongs to Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has 170 consecutive double-digit attempts.
Gilgeous-Alexander could catch James – that is, if he keeps this streak going for another fourteen years, he’ll be 41.
“He’s such an unselfish player,” Lakers center Jake LaRavia said of James. “He just plays basketball. He had the opportunity, but because of the player he is and who he is as a person, he made the unselfish play, passed it to Rui and we won the game.”
James reaching double figures was mostly an afterthought long before the start of the fourth quarter. During the streak, he had reached the 10-point mark 1,266 times in three quarters on Thursday.
But two of those single-digit games through three quarters came in the last week or so: He had nine points entering the fourth against Dallas on Nov. 28, and then had six points entering the fourth against Phoenix on Monday night.
James managed to extend the streak that evening. One game later it was done, and he celebrated anyway.
“I always play the right game. It’s automatic: win, lose or draw,” James said. “If you play the right game, the game gods always give me back.”
By his own description, he is not yet in the rhythm, having missed the entire preseason and all but six games of the regular season with an injury. This was also evident from the fact that he missed his first six shots on Thursday, three of which were not even close.
And he remembers all the times he was criticized for passing the ball in big moments. He always said the right play is the right play, and those words rang true again Thursday.
“I remember everything that was said negatively about me and my game during my career,” James said. “And that aspect is one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard when it comes to making the right pass and making the right play. We’re in the business of winning basketball games and my whole life I’ve just played the game that way. I learned the game that way. I’ve won at every level I’ve played playing the game that way.”
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