It was LeBron James, 39, who stepped up to the plate to save his team from a possible sweep. He was on the court for a whopping 47 minutes and 56 seconds, giving it his all. But in the end, he couldn’t save his team from elimination. “We need to think about it,” he said after the game.
The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) lost 111-113 in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals of the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs (PO) against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The loss dropped the Lakers to 0-4 in the series and swept them out of the PO stage.메이저놀이터
Never in the history of the NBA’s best-of-seven series has a team dropping the first three games completed a reverse sweep. In 149 0-3 situations, the underdog has packed it in. Still, James was confident in his postgame interview after Game 3, saying, “I just have the mindset to make history.” And he did.
James seemed to deliver on that promise, as he exploded for 21 points in 12 minutes of the first quarter. After shooting just 15.5 percent from three-point range in Games 1-3, he set the tone in the first quarter of Game 4 by hitting all four. The flow continued in the second quarter. He added 10 points. At the end of the second quarter, the Lakers led 73-58.
But No. 1 seed Denver was strong. The Nuggets fought back in the third quarter with the trio of Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic, and Jamal Murray playing 12 minutes each. The Nuggets scored 36 points in the quarter behind their starters. The Lakers were held to just 16 points in the quarter.
The final quarter was a tense seesaw. It was Denver who had the last laugh in the ‘Battle of the Aces’. Jokic hit a crucial layup with just over a minute left to cut the lead to two points. James’ last-second comeback layup was blocked.
James finished the night with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on 60 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. He was a force to be reckoned with, playing all but four seconds of the second quarter.
James also had some meaningful words after the game. According to NBA Central, The Athletic, and other local media outlets, James congratulated Denver on reaching the Finals, but also said he has “a lot to think about personally as far as what’s next.” James, who was born in 1984, is old enough to consider retirement at any time, so his comments will be of interest to fans.