NEW YORK—LeBron James would only hint at how long he expects to keep playing in the NBA.
“Not very long. I’m not going to play another 21 years. That’s for damn sure,” James said after he had one of the best shooting nights of his illustrious career, going 9 for 10 from behind the 3-point line to tie his career high for 3s in Sunday’s (March 31) 116–104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
“I don’t know when that door will close, but I don’t have much time left,” James said.
James once again looked like an ageless wonder as he played his 1,485th career game and matched a season high with 40 points. He had the Barclays Center sellout crowd standing as he put the finishing touches on his 3-point shooting display in the fourth quarter.
James reached 40 points for the third time this season, most recently on March 16 in a home loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers have won five of six since then, and this victory moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Los Angeles remained ninth in the Western Conference, but the Lakers could catch the Sacramento Kings for eighth or the Phoenix Suns for seventh in the West, taking them out of the single-elimination No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game.
If James has another game like this in the postseason, just about anything is possible for the NBA’s career scoring leader who continues to amaze at age 39.
The 20-time All Star finished 13 for 17 from the floor overall as the Lakers played the fourth game of a six-game road trip and rebounded from a loss Friday night at Indiana that snapped their five-game winning streak.
“I put in a lot of time working on my craft,” James said.
Anthony Davis added 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Rui Hachimura had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game the Lakers led by 20 points in the first quarter and controlled throughout. Brooklyn got its deficit inside double digits just once in the second half.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 30 points, trying to rally them after their dismal start.
“But can’t do nothing when somebody hits 9 for 10 from 3,” Thomas said. “Made every 3 he put up so it’s tough, but I feel like we played really well second through the fourth. It was just the first quarter was pretty tough on us, starting off that slow.”
The Lakers got 114 of their 116 points from their starters.
James also made nine 3-pointers on Jan. 24, 2023, against the Clippers, shooting 9 for 14. His 90 percent accuracy Sunday was the second-best of his career in games in which he made at least five 3-pointers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He was 5 for 5 against Oklahoma City on Dec. 23 of this season.
Brooklyn was 0 for 8 from the field when interim Coach Kevin Ollie called his first timeout just more than four minutes into the first quarter after James grabbed a defensive rebound and hit Davis in stride with a long pass for a breakaway dunk. The Nets’ futility continued until Nic Claxton broke the ice after a 0-for-11 start by banking in a 10-footer.
Still, the Los Angeles lead rapidly grew to 24–4 with 4½ minutes left in the opening quarter. The Lakers’ lead was 31–10 after one quarter as Brooklyn shot 4-for-21 and was outrebounded 21–11.
James kept single-handedly holding off the Nets in the third and fourth quarters with 3s, the eighth of which came as he was falling to his left from the corner to give the Lakers a 108–91 lead.
