LOS ANGELES — There are still milestones left for LeBron James to reach, as unlikely as that may seem.
In a 20-year career that saw James lead three franchises to championships and become the NBA’s scoring leader, he had never grabbed 20 rebounds in a game. Not in the regular season. Not in the off season.
Not until Monday. Until his Los Angeles Lakers needed his muscles, his experience and his intuition. Until they needed James to push a brash young opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, to the brink of a first-round elimination.
“These are the moments I love,” James said. “I like the postseason.”
The 117-111 overtime win that James helped clinch on Monday night led the Lakers, who started the season 2-10 and appeared to be losing heading into the trade deadline, to a 3-1 series lead over the Grizzlies, who had been the best all season. of the best teams in the Western Conference.
The Lakers are in this leadership position because James found a way to push through his exhaustion in the final minutes of Game 4 and increase his knowledge. He grabbed the rebounds, took the offense, made a driving layup by connecting with 29.1 seconds left in overtime and screamed into the crowd as he pounded his chest.
“He understands the timing, the timing of everything,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. “The known of what happened yesterday and the unknown of tomorrow, it makes him even more anchored in today, in the moment.
“All his travels. All the phenomenal things he’s accomplished – he still has that passion, that courage to want to be on top and to position his team in the right way to be successful. That’s what you saw.”
With 22 points and 20 rebounds, James became the first Laker to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. At age 38, he became the oldest player in NBA history with 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game, beating a playoff score set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1973.
Partly due to the presence of James, it was clear from the start of this series that the Lakers are no ordinary seventh seed. Their track record did not reflect who they were when Anthony Davis and James were available, if not completely healthy. They also improved significantly afterwards make their selection again at the trade deadline.
Conversely, the Grizzlies entered the postseason with a bump. Their starting player, Steven Adams, is out with a knee injury and Brandon Clarke, another player who expanded their line-up, is also injured.
Memphis lost Game 1 at home. But, famous for their roar, that early defeat did not humble them. A Grizzlies player, Dillon Brooks, went straight for James both on and off the field.
During Game 2, Brooks said James called him “stupid” for committing his fourth foul.
“I don’t care – he’s old, you know what I mean?” Brooks responded.
“I was waiting for that,” he continued. “I expected him to do Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth error. He should have said that earlier. But I poke bears. I don’t respect anyone until they come and give me 40.
Creating a rivalry with James can be an easy way for another player to siphon some of his spotlight. James knew that and didn’t want to be a part of it.
After an exercise last week, James was asked several questions about Brooks’ comments and he ignored them all. He then ended his press conference early, before he was tempted to say anything that could escalate the feud. He said he preferred to speak through his play.
However, in the minutes before Game 3, James approached Brooks. There was no audio, but cameras captured the interaction and the video circulated on social media.
“There was nothing private about it,” James said after the game, betraying that he wasn’t actually ignoring everything Brooks had said. “It was very, very public. I like it that way.”
The Lakers led 35-9 after the first quarter of that game, driving their fans into a frenzy and making Memphis’ bravado seem silly. The Grizzlies never recovered from their bad start, even though Ja Morant scored 45 points. Brooks was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul determined when he struck James in the groin, prematurely ending the battle that had been going on between them.
Still, not everything came easy for the Lakers on Monday.
They had a 15-point lead going into the second quarter, but Memphis finished the first half with a 14-1 run and the Lakers led only 2 at halftime. To close out the third quarter, Morant swung through the paint to submerge the ball over time to give Memphis a 2-point lead.
Late in the game, however, the Lakers received key contributions from several players. Davis, after a quiet game for three quarters, made important defensive plays late. D’Angelo Russell made three three-pointers within a minute in the fourth quarter to pull the Lakers out of a seven-point deficit.
But James’ contributions, as he battled through fatigue in the final minutes, meant the most.
“You just dig deep and understand that you’ll be able to sleep at some point, but not now,” said James, who looked exhausted after the game. “This is not the time to rest or forget an assignment. You have plenty of time after a game and the next day to rest and decompress as much as possible.
Rest is hard to find in the play-offs. While the Lakers and Grizzlies had a friendlier schedule than some teams, with two days off between each of the first three games, they now play every other day at progressively higher stakes. The Lakers’ first chance to wrap up the series comes in Game 5 in Memphis on Wednesday.
“The closeout game is always the hardest game in the series,” said James. “It’s the most exhausting.”