LOS ANGELES — LeBron James caught fire in the fourth quarter on Saturday, scoring 16 of his game-high 32 points in a three-minute span to help the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-127 win over the Sacramento Kings and a 3-0 start to the season.
James was responsible for 18 points during the Lakers' 21-0 run to start the fourth, scoring 11 straight then assisting on a Jaxson Hayes dunk before scoring five more.
While it was a vintage performance for the 22-year veteran, James said that fourth-quarter burst isn't something he feels will be necessary for entire games in order for L.A. to win this season.
«Listen, I could do that at 22, but at almost 40, I don't need to be doing it for four quarters,» James said after adding 14 rebounds and 10 assists, accounting for the 113th triple-double of his career. «I have the luxury of having a MVP-caliber player next to me [in Anthony Davis]. AR [Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. D-Lo [D'Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches, as well.
»So, this team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That's not how it's constructed and nor should it be. We're a team, and we all play together."
Indeed, for as hot as James was to start the fourth, it was Davis who finished it by hitting a 3 and tacking on a free throw in the final minute to give L.A. the edge.
«We encourage him, coaches encourage him, we as his teammates encourage him to shoot that 3 ball, and probably the biggest shot of the night is him making that 3, so it made it easy on me,» James said of Davis.
Davis put up 31 points and registered his third straight 30-point game, tying a franchise record for the most consecutive
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