🔗 Share this article

James understood his incredible streak of putting up 10+ points was threatened. In that crucial moment, though, it was not his focus.

The right decision involved passing the basketball – so he did. Following that play, his remarkable run finished.

LeBron's staggering streak of 1,297 consecutive regular-season outings scoring at least ten ended this past Thursday, as the NBA's all-time scoring leader had only a mere eight points during the Los Angeles Lakers' 123-120 victory over Toronto. He provided the clutch helper, setting up teammate Rui Hachimura to knock down a triple to win the game.

“Nothing,” James stated when asked about the streak ending. “The important thing is we won.”

An Unselfish Choice Seals the Game

James could have sought to clinch the game – and preserved the streak – in the closing seconds, yet he opted to dish the ball to his teammate stationed in the corner. Hachimura sank it, and James raised his arms with his hands in the air.

You have to play basketball correctly. Always make the smart play,” James explained. That is my philosophy. That is the way I was taught to play. That's what I've done my whole career.”

He is very conscious of how many points he has at all times,” commented the team's head coach JJ Redick. He acted just as he has countless times.”

The Streak's Final Moments

James re-entered the floor for the final time with just over five minutes left, the win and the streak on the line. He had a mere six points from 3-of-15 shooting by that point.

He managed a basket with under two minutes remaining to knot the score then missed a shot with 1:01 left that would have taken him into double figures.

He avoided taking a subsequent shot – though the opportunity was there. Austin Reaves found him with a few seconds left, however, James opted to make the pass instead.

The spirits of the game, if you approach it correctly, they will bless you,” the coach concluded.

A Look Back at a Staggering Record

The record began over eighteen years ago. It stood as the most extended streak of its kind in NBA history: His Airness, Michael Jordan had 866 straight double-digit scoring games, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 787 such games, and Karl Malone was fourth on the list of 575 games.

LeBron is such a team-oriented player,” noted teammate Jake LaRavia.

“He’s just playing hoops. The chance was there but given who he is on the court and his character off the court, he made the unselfish play, passed it to Rui and secured the victory.”

Reaching double digits had long been a guarantee well before the start of fourth quarters. During James’s streak, he had reached ten points entering the fourth over twelve hundred times before this game.

But two such single-digit games through three quarters had occurred in the last week: He recorded nine points going into the fourth against Dallas on 28 November, and then had six points before the fourth quarter against Phoenix earlier in the week.

He succeeded in extend the streak against the Suns. The very next outing, it finished – and he celebrated all the same.

My focus is to make the correct play. That’s automatic, regardless of outcome,” James affirmed. “You make the smart play, the game gods are always giving back to me.”