Getty LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after scoring his 40,000th career point during the first half against the Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets.
As another LeBron James‘ historic night ended in another Los Angeles Lakers loss, Anthony Davis teased his co-star.
“I was just telling him in the locker room he might have to stop breaking records because we always lose any time he breaks a record,” Davis told reporters following a Lakers’ 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, March 2, at Crypto.com Arena. “And he said the same thing.”
James reached 40,000 points on a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter. The 39-year-old Lakers superstar finished with 26 points and nine assists but it was not enough to exorcise the ghost of their 2023 Western Conference Finals sweeping loss to the Nuggets.
“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league, just knowing the history, the greats that’s come through the league and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight, it was great to compete,” James said via NBA.com. “But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat.”
It was the Lakers’ eighth straight loss to the defending champions dating back to last season.
Last year, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. But it also ended in a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder despite his 38-point performance.
Anthony Davis Rues Lakers’ Meltdown
The Nuggets used a 19-6 run to close out the game.
Davis rued their meltdown and praised the Nuggets’ execution down the stretch.
“The game for them is always won in the last two, three minutes of the game,” Davis said. “Same action and they put us in limbo a lot of times with our help [defense].”
The Lakers held the lead for the last time 110-108 on a James’ reverse layup with 4:11 remaining. A Justin Holiday drive set up an Aaron Gordon corner 3-pointer that gave the Nuggets the lead and momentum. It was all downhill from there for the Lakers.
“We’re either overhelping or not helping enough and this [Denver] team is the one who always makes us pay off our mistakes,” said Davis, who had 17 points, 15 in the first three quarters, and 11 rebounds.
Rui Hachimura had 23 points for the Lakers but he could not stop Nikola Jokic, who exploded for a game-high 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Austin Reaves added 19 points and 14 assists while D’Angelo Russell wound up with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting despite getting benched down the stretch. Russell was the only Lakers starter who finished with a positive net rating (plus-2).
Kobe NBA Finals Game-Worn Jersey Sold for $915K
Kobe Bryant‘s game-worn jersey during his first NBA Finals MVP run was sold for $915,000 at an auction.
According to Goldin Auctions, the jersey “comes with an LOA from MeiGray (AM010669), who have conclusively photo-matched the jersey to Game 3 of the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic on Jun. 9.”
The Lakers legend scored 31 points and issued a game-high 8 assists in a 108-104 loss. Despite the jersey worn in a Lakers loss, the auction still attracted 29 bidders.
The jersey cost more than twice his final road game jersey in 2016, which was sold for $366,967 by SCP Auction last year. The record sale for a Bryant jersey was $5.8 million for his iconic game-worn autographed jersey from his 2007-2008 MVP season sold also last year by Sotheby’s.