SAN FRANCISCO – LeBron James dribbled down the court on a one-man fast break before finishing through multiple Golden State defenders for an and-1 layup on the Warriors’ bright yellow court midway through the third quarter.
The scene that Bay Area fans had seen play out dozens of times over the course of the past decade had unfolded yet again on Christmas Day, as James took on Olympic teammate Steph Curry and the Warriors.
After the Lakers withstood a last-second Curry bombardment and got a clutch layup by Austin Reaves to win 115-113, James sat at his visiting locker and had a succinct answer as to why fans should tune into the NBA amid a ratings crisis.
“LeBron and Steph,” James said.
After James put in 31 points and Curry had 38 as the stars on Christmas day, it’s difficult to argue with the league’s all time leading scorer. But how much longer will that be true?
Though the teams will meet three more times during the regular season, the Lakers won a game that may go down in the history books as James’ final Christmas Day showdown with Curry.
“Just enjoying the moment, being thankful,” James said. “Lot of gratitude to be able to play the game I love and do it on such a beautiful day. Had the luxury, I think today was my 19th time playing on Christmas, so you know I don’t take it for granted to go against one of the greatest to ever play the game and one of the greatest franchises since I’ve been in the league.”
With James, who turns 40 years old on Dec. 30, having made public statements hinting at retirement over the past year, both he and the Lakers organization know that games like Wednesday’s should be cherished.
“Its been awesome and its been different,” Lakers coach JJ Reddick said. “Part of that is just him enjoying the moment. You don’t have many of these left, and that’s just reality.”
The Lakers secured the victory when Austin Reaves made a driving layup with one second remaining in the game. That clutch shot came just six seconds after Curry had made his second 3-pointer in the final 12 seconds, a triple that left James both annoyed and amazed.
“You just tip your hat, because he’s a great player and you just have to tip your hat,” James said. “You have a feeling of ‘(expletive), versus us, why?’” But being a fan, you’re like ‘How did he make that’ because he’s special. You have an appreciation for it for sure.”
What was once a perennial Christmas Day barnburner from 2015-18 was renewed after a six-year hiatus.
On a day when the NFL broadcast a pair of blowouts, James and Curry were the stars of the NBA’s trademark Christmas spectacle. Again.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” James said on the ESPN after winning his record 11th Christmas Day game.
James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and Curry’s Warriors met in four consecutive Finals from 2015-18, with the Warriors winning in all but 2016, when James and Co. famously came back from down 3-1 to capture the franchise’s first and to date only title.
Since then, the James-led Lakers have defeated the Warriors in the 2021 play-in tournament and the 2023 Western Conference semifinals.
While the Lakers victory certainly did not possess the stakes of those playoff series or the late-2010s finals – the Lakers (17-13) and Warriors (15-14) are the seventh and eight seeds in the Western Conference – it did not lack intensity.
After Anthony Davis left the game with a sprained ankle in the first quarter, the Lakers’ ageless superstar had to put on a vintage King James performance, scoring 31 and dishing out 10 assists just two days after compiling a 28-point triple-double against the Pistons.
The Lakers lineup late in the first quarter – youngsters Christian Koloko and rookie Dalton Knecht paired with middling veterans Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish – was a throwback to James’ lacking supporting cast in a few of those aforementioned Finals.
But that was for just a fleeting moment. Reaves stepped up in the absence of injured guard and former Warrior D’Angelo Russell. He put up a 26-point triple-double and scored the final four points to give James the help he needed.
“It got to a hand we trust,” was how James described the final play. “The play was drawn up for me, and they doubled me at the top of the key, and its always great to have great options on the floor at the same time. AR has been in that position.”
James added to his Christmas Day points record (507) and games played (19).
How many more Christmas Day games will the Bay Area see James play in against its team’s superstar guard? That is yet to be determined. But if this really was James and Curry’s final Dec. 25 duel, the two’s legacies are ironclad.
“In the same way Magic and Larry in the 1980s and MJ in the 1990s, and Kobe for a long time, they’ve, in someway, they’ve carried the league,” Lakers coach JJ Reddick said. “The popularity, the growth and all that stuff, they’ve had a big part of that.”