Despite LeBron James’ remarkable performance at age 40, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t overcome the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the NBA Playoffs. Led by Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves emerged victorious with a 114-106 win, taking a 2-1 lead in the series. After the game, Edwards shared his admiration for James, the league’s all-time leading scorer.
At Target Center, James turned back the clock with a standout performance. “The King” finished the night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, but his efforts weren’t enough to lift the Lakers to a win.
Following Lakers’ loss, Edwards, impressed by James’ play, reflected on the experience of competing against him. “He was incredible,” Edwards said of James during the postgame press conference. “He did everything he could in his power to will ’em to a win”.
“He was shooting it from Yucatan. For sure. He was shooting it crazy,” he continued. “He caught one of ’em in transition, and I was like kinda closing out, and I’m like, ‘He not about to shoot this.’ And he launched. I’m not gonna lie, it was fun to watch him [and to] be competing against him today, for sure”.
LeBron claims there is no margin for error
While the series is just one game apart, the Lakers are in a precarious position heading into Game 4. A loss would put them just one game away from elimination. However, a win would send the series back to Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers could capitalize on home-court advantage to secure a series victory.
Amid these high stakes, James emphasized the importance of minimizing mistakes in postseason play. “In the postseason, there is no room for error,” James said. “In the regular season, you’re able to make up for certain things where you can have a little bit of room for error”.
“In the postseason, obviously you’re not gonna play a perfect game,” he added. “But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes, things that can be controlled, it’s not gonna give the opportunity to have the best possible chance to win”.
LeBron James breaks his own playoff record
In leading the Lakers with a game-high 38 points, James set a new milestone in NBA playoff history. Who held the previous record? Himself. James became the oldest player to score 35 or more points in a playoff game, achieving the feat at age 40, according to Keerthika Uthayakumar. The previous record was also held by James, set when he was 38 years old.
Additionally, James and Michael Jordan share the record as the only players in NBA history to score 30 or more points in 100 playoff games. James currently holds 123 such games, while Jordan had 109 during his legendary career.