Luka Doncic made history with the Los Angeles Lakers after scoring 60 points in the win against the Miami Heat. Still, it was important to put Luka Doncic’s achievement into perspective, and the question arose: When was the last time LeBron James reached or surpassed that scoring mark in the NBA?
The last time LeBron James scored 60 or more points in an NBA game was on March 3, 2014. During that historic night, he recorded the highest scoring total of his career, putting up 61 points while playing for the Miami Heat against the Charlotte Bobcats, before they became the Hornets.
The King reached that mark only once in his career, which was impressive, but it gave the sense that Luka could repeat it in his career, given how things are trending in today’s NBA, especially considering the league recently witnessed the second-highest scoring performance in history with Bam Adebayo’s 83 points.
Doncic gives credit to Lebron
Despite the fact that Doncic was the star of the night without any doubt, Luka acknowledged the high level and the role change that LeBron had embraced for the good of the team. Lebron finished the game with 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting, along with 15 rebounds and 10 assists, posting the 124th triple-double of his NBA career.
Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball.
“Like I said yesterday, you know, without him, we wouldn’t win,” Doncic told Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell. “So the way he’s playing, it’s incredible to see and incredible to watch,” and it reflected the impact of a 41-year-old player having a great season while competing for a championship and understanding his role.
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When the Lakers struggled to maintain momentum from December through February, some people pointed fingers at James. Many NBA fans believed the four-time Finals MVP’s defensive limitations would prevent the Lakers from making a deep run in the NBA playoffs, the team was meshing very well, sitting in third place in the West after winning eight straight games.
Lakers current form
Now that Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were all healthy, Los Angeles looked like a genuine championship contender. The eldest member of that trio was indeed a big reason why the Lakers reached that level in the latter part of the regular season.
The level of Doncic was phenomenal. Doncic scored 40 points in a near triple-double before scoring a season high 60 points against the Miami Heat, and now The Purple and Gold, 45-25, continued their six-game road trip when they faced the Orlando Magic, 38 to 31, at the Kia Center that Saturday.
