One night after his NBA-record streak of double-digit scoring games ended in dramatic and unselfish fashion, LeBron James will aim to keep the Los Angeles Lakers rolling when they visit the Boston Celtics on Friday.
Los Angeles earned a 123-120 road win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday when James assisted on Rui Hachimura's 3-pointer at the buzzer.
James scored eight points in the game, the first time since 2007 that he didn't score at least 10, ending a streak of 1,297 games in which he reached double figures. He shot 4 of 17 from the field and missed each of his five 3-point attempts.
James expressed no regrets about deciding to pass at the end rather than shoot in an attempt to win the game and extend the streak. In the end, Hachimura was the hero even over teammate Austin Reaves, who logged 44 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
"Just playing the game the right way," James said. "You always make the right play. That's just been my M.O. That's how I was taught the game. I've done that my whole career. ...
"Once they doubled (Reaves) and the ball got swung to me, I knew it was a numbers game. We had a 4-on-3 advantage, and I was just trying to put the ball on time on target."
Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James' final play, "The basketball gods, if you do it the right way, they tend to reward you."
Reaves and Hachimura might be asked for more heroics on Friday if Lakers star Luka Doncic misses a second game in a row, as is expected. The team officially listed his Thursday absence as being for personal reasons, with no details provided, but multiple media outlets reported that he was in his native Slovenia awaiting the birth of a child.
"We hope to get him back soon," said Redick, whose team has won eight of its past nine games. "... Don't have a pinpointed day, though."
The Lakers also prevailed in Toronto without veteran guard Marcus Smart, who spent the first nine years of his NBA career with the Celtics. Smart sat out his fourth consecutive game because of lower back injury management and is considered day-to-day.
Like the Lakers, the Celtics were missing their top scorer when they earned a win on Thursday.
Jaylen Brown sat out due to an illness, but Boston demolished the host Washington Wizards 146-101.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was coy when he was asked if Brown would play against the Lakers.
"I'm not a doctor," he said. "Sorry, I have no idea."
Jordan Walsh made each of his eight field-goal attempts and tossed in a career-high 22 points for Boston. Walsh, who also collected seven rebounds in the win, has made each of his past 13 shots from the floor.
"Honestly, I (keep) forgetting what happens on offense," Walsh said. "When I score, I lowkey forget what happened (because) I'm so focused on getting back on defense. It leaves my mind, but whenever I get a steal and a dunk, or like a steal and a rebound, that stays with me. ... Defense always sticks with me for some reason."
Boston is 8-2 since Walsh was moved into the starting lineup.
"I thought Jordan set the tone on both ends of the floor," Mazzulla said. "He was unscreenable and did a great job making plays defensively."
The Celtics and Lakers split their two-game regular-season series in seven of the past eight campaigns, the lone exception being a Boston sweep in 2022-23.
--Field Level Media
