LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James’ greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we go back to a game during the 2019-20 season when the Lakers made another big statement to the rest of the Western Conference.
Downing Denver Again
Heading into a road contest against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 12, the Lakers were 40-12, but national pundits still had doubts about whether they could win the NBA championship or even reach the NBA Finals. The Nuggets had the second-best record in the West, and ESPN’s panel of experts had picked them to finish first in the West.
Los Angeles had already defeated Denver in Colorado on Dec. 3 before losing big to Nikola Jokic and crew by 24 points on Dec. 22. This Feb. 12 contest was supposed to reveal quite a bit about which of these two squads was better equipped to conquer the conference.
The Nuggets went up by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but L.A. responded with 13 straight points to tie the game at 49-all before taking a 61-55 lead into halftime. The rest of the game was a seesaw battle that needed an overtime session to be decided, with James scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to keep his team alive.
The Lakers ended up prevailing in overtime, 120-116. James finished with 32 points on 15-of-29 shooting, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, and his 15 made field goals were a season-high for him to that point in the season. Anthony Davis had 33 points, 10 boards, two steals and two blocks, and Dwight Howard added 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
That win was L.A.’s third in a row, and it would extend that winning streak to seven games. By the time the season was suspended in early march due to the brewing COVID-19 pandemic, the Lakers had proven that they were the team to beat in the NBA.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James’ greatest games with the Lakers: Downing the Nuggets
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
