LeBron James walked through the visiting locker room Christmas afternoon and wondered if there was music playing inside the Chase Center.
As a DJ bumped early 2000s Ludacris near the hoop the Lakers were warming up on, James broke routine to dance and smile.
As much as any player in the league before or after, James is aware of the stage. And even after doing it 18 previous times over 21 seasons, a spot on the court Christmas evening with everyone watching hit him like a triple espresso.
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Facing Stephen Curry and the Warriors in a big game? Old news for James, who competed against one of his biggest rivals in five different playoff series (and one play-in game).
But in the context of this season, with James days away from his 40th birthday, he looked like someone intent on savoring things.
He embraced Curry pregame, the two Olympic teammates from the summer still enjoying that experience. He ran onto the court after halftime, stopping at the end of the tunnel to playfully dance to “Not Like Us” with Chase Center security. And during the action, he delivered an age-defying performance for the unexpectedly shorthanded Lakers in a 115-113 win against the Warriors with timely help from Austin Reaves.
After a flurry of Curry buckets in the fourth, Reaves drove past Andrew Wiggins and scored with one second left to seal the win.
Without D’Angelo Russell the entire game and Anthony Davis out for most of it, James didn’t just use his old-man strength to bully into the paint. He jumped passing lines, dug in and deflected on double teams, swished middies and bullied smaller defenders between him and the rim.
Russell didn’t play after sustaining a sprained thumb in the Lakers’ loss to Detroit on Monday. Davis, a player who has feasted against smaller Golden State lineups, played just seven scoreless minutes before exiting with a left ankle sprain.
It meant that even the most energized version of James would need help. Wednesday, he got it.
Reaves scored 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the third triple-double of his career. Rui Hachimura scored 18 and hit five threes, grinning at the Lakers bench as he ran back on defense. Max Christie and Gabe Vincent chased Curry, and rookie Dalton Knecht, stuck in a month-long slump, chipped in 13 points off the bench for the Lakers (17-13).
But winning is always hard — and the Warriors (15-14), like James, don’t shy from the biggest stages.
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Ex-Laker Dennis Schroder swished a three after a James block, and Curry hit a driving layup to cut the Lakers’ lead to two inside 30 seconds.
Christie made a pair of free throws, but Curry hit an insanely difficult three over James deep in the corner to make it a one-point game. Reaves hit both free throws but the door was still open.
And Curry got enough off of a Draymond Green screen to make another three, this time with no one on him to tie the game with six seconds left before Reaves won it for the Lakers on a driving layup.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
