It was ‘King’ LeBron James (39) who took the lead to save the team from a sweep loss crisis. He spent 47 minutes and 56 seconds on the court, giving his all. But in the end, it couldn’t prevent the team’s elimination. After the game, he also left a meaningful remark, “I need to think about it in the future.”
The American Professional Basketball (NBA) Los Angeles (LA) Lakers scored 111-113 in Game 4 of the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs (PO) Western Conference Finals (4 wins out of 7) against the Denver Nuggets held at the Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena on the 23rd. lost. With this loss, the Lakers packed their bags at the PO stage with a series record of 0-4 and a sweep loss.
In the history of the NBA PO 7 premise, there has never been a case where a team that gave up the first 3 games succeeded in a reverse sweep. In 149 0-3 situations, the thirteenth team all packed up. Nevertheless, in an interview after losing Game 3, James boldly said, “I only have the mindset to write a new history.”
James seemed to keep his promise. He bombed 21 points in 12 minutes in the first quarter. He had a 3-point success rate of only 15.5% in the previous 1st to 3rd games, but in the 1st quarter of the 4th game, he made all 4 of them to liven up the court atmosphere. The second quarter also continued the flow. He added 10 points. At the end of the second quarter, the Lakers took a 73-58 lead.
But No. 1 seed Denver was strong. Denver counterattacked in the third quarter, with Aaron Gordon, Nicola Jokic, and Jamal Murray playing 12 minutes. Denver scored 36 points in the quarter thanks to the performance of its key players. The Lakers only scored 16 points and the tight flow continued.
In the final quarter, a tight seesaw game unfolded. It was Denver who laughed at ‘Ace Showdown’. Yokichi made a crucial layup that ran away with a two-point lead with just over a minute left. On the other hand, James’ layup right before the end was canceled due to a block.
James’ performance that day was 40 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, a 60% field goal rate and a 57.1% 3-point success rate. He had a forced march, appearing all the time except for the last 4 seconds of the 2nd quarter. 메이저놀이터
Meanwhile, after the game, James said something meaningful. According to local media, including NBA Central and The Athletic, James congratulated Denver for reaching the finals, but said, “I personally have a lot to think about next steps.” James, born in 1984, is at an age where he can consider retirement at any time, so fans are interested in the remark.