ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — LeBron James has made a career out of carrying his team through tough stretches, and in his 17th season, he hasn’t lost a step.
James had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his sixth triple-double this season, helping the Los Angeles Lakers to a 96-87 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
At 22-3, the Lakers are off to their best start since the 1985-86 season and tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the best record in the league. Anthony Davis had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 for the Lakers, who have won 13 of 14.
But it was James who was the deciding factor, accounting for every point in a 10-0 run that broke a 71-71 tie early in the fourth quarter.
“We just wanted to start the road trip off the right way. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to set the tone. We did that for the first two quarters. We let our foot off the gas in the third quarter and made it a game. And in the fourth quarter, we just started executing and win the ball game. I’m happy about the win even though I don’t look like it, but I’m not satisfied with the way we played. We just got to be a lot better.” said James.
Orlando had rallied from 24 points down to tie it at 71-all on a 3-pointer from Michael Carter-Williams with 10:48 left in the game.
James pulled the plug on the Magic comeback. He assisted on the Lakers’ next three possessions, hitting a cutting Avery Bradley in the lane for a layup, Alex Caruso for a corner 3 and Jared Dudley for another wide open 3-pointer.
At 22-3 through 25 games of the 2019-20 NBA season, the Lakers are still tied for the best record. While it may be nitpicking at this point, the Lakers had a grand opportunity to get extra rest but failed to do so against the Magic.
Regardless of the opponent, it is ultimately difficult to win on the road and their schedule does not get any easier. Over the next six days, Los Angeles faces the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks.