LeBron James had just been knocked to the floor by Zion Williamson, New Orleans’ door-frame-shaped power forward, when the referees blew the whistle and signaled for a first-quarter charge.
James sprang to his feet and sprinted — like, really sprinted — down the court to the far corner where he was the first player back ready for the next possession.
It was a signal. The miles run on his tires hadn’t disrupted the treads. And he was going to show the young guys he still had plenty to give.
More than an hour later, the Lakers having ripped the New Orleans Pelicans to shreds, James walked to the same spot on the court. He theatrically shook his head in disbelief. He put both of his index fingers to his head and circled them.
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Cuckoo. Crazy. Total insanity.
“Extraordinary,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Otherworldly.”
What James and the Lakers did to New Orleans inside T-Mobile Arena, the home of UFC, had to make the locals uncomfortable — usually they stop fights that are this one-sided.
The Lakers advanced to the NBA in-season tournament final in dominant fashion, blowing out the Pelicans 133-89.
James scored 30 points, dished out eight assists and finished a plus-36 — in less than 23 minutes. No one in the history of the NBA had ever had a game with those three numbers. And no one had done anything like that at 38 years old.
The Lakers will play for the first NBA Cup on Saturday against Indiana, which beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 earlier Thursday.
Players from the winning team will each receive a $500,000 prize.
James opened the game by putting his defender, Herb Jones, one of the best in the NBA, on his hip for an and-one. With the Lakers down a point in the second quarter, James flipped the game, scoring a trio of three-pointers on consecutive possessions. They never trailed again.
“It’s impressive to watch him just turn it to another gear in these big games,” D’Angelo Russell said. “Honestly, he can shoot it better. He’s faster. He’s more athletic….