🔗 Share this article

James understood his incredible streak of putting up 10+ points was in danger. When it mattered most, though, he wasn't bothered.

The correct basketball play was to pass the rock – so he did. Consequently, the legendary streak came to an end.

LeBron's astounding streak of 1,297 consecutive NBA regular season games with 10+ points concluded during a recent game, as the NBA's all-time scoring leader was limited to eight points in the Los Angeles Lakers' close triumph versus Toronto. He delivered the clutch helper, feeding teammate Rui Hachimura to hit a triple at the buzzer.

“Nothing,” James said in response about the streak ending. “The team got the victory.”

An Unselfish Decision Delivers the Win

James could have sought to clinch the game – and extended the streak – on the final possession, yet he opted to make the extra pass to Rui in the left corner. Hachimura sank it, with LeBron raised his arms triumphantly.

It's about playing the game correctly. Make the smart play,” James explained. That is my M.O.. That is the way I was taught to play. I’ve done that for two decades.”

He is very conscious exactly how many points he's scored during a game,” stated the team's head coach JJ Redick. “He did it just as he has countless times.”

The Run's Final Moments

LeBron checked back into the game for the final time at just over five minutes left, the win along with the historic run both hanging in the balance. He had only six points from 3-of-15 shooting at that juncture.

He got a bucket at under two minutes remaining to tie the game but then missed a shot at 1:01 left which could have taken him into double figures.

He avoided taking a subsequent shot – but could have. Austin Reaves found him in the waning seconds, however, James opted to make the pass instead.

The basketball deities, if you approach it correctly, they tend to bless you,” the coach concluded.

Reflecting on a Staggering Record

The record commenced over eighteen years ago. It stood as the most extended double-digit streak in professional basketball: His Airness, Michael Jordan had 866 straight games with 10+ points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded 787 such games, and The Mailman was fourth on the list with 575.

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

“He’s just playing the sport. He could have shot but given who he is on the court and just who he is as a person, he chose the pass, passed it to Rui and secured the victory.”

Scoring in double figures was usually a formality well before the final period. During James’s streak, he had reached ten points by the start of the fourth 1,266 times coming into the contest.

But two such games below ten points through three quarters had happened just days before: He recorded nine points going into the fourth against Dallas last week, and then had six points before the fourth quarter against Phoenix earlier in the week.

James managed to keep the streak alive against the Suns. In the following contest, it finished – and he celebrated all the same.

“I always just make the right play. That’s automatic, win, lose or draw,” James said. If you make the smart play, the game gods consistently rewarding me.”