LeBron James joins Michael Jordan with another 40-point showing - ESPN

NEW YORK — Few players have played basketball as long as LeBron James has, and the 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star continues to make a case that none have done it better at his age.

James scored 40 points in L.A.'s 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, joining Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history with multiple games of 40 points or more after the age of 39. James now has done it twice; Jordan, who played until he was 40, did it three times.

The 21-year veteran went 13-for-17 from the floor and tied a career high in 3s made, going 9-for-10 from deep.

«I don't ever have to lean on [3-pointers] because I can do so much — I can score on any level on the floor basically once I cross half court,» James said of his improved marksmanship in the latter stages of his career. «But being able to have a growth mindset and be able to work on things that the league is changing to, the league is a heavy 3-point shooting league.

»I'm not one of those guys that wants to go out there and shoot 12, 14 or 15 3s per game. But I want to be respected, and teams have to play me from the outside. That's still kind of one thing teams [think]… 'If we have to give up something, we'd much rather him shoot the ball from the outside.'"

Brooklyn didn't necessarily give James open looks. The Lakers star simply got hot, making nearly everything he threw up from beyond the arc. And he saved his best for last, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-6 shooting (4-for-4 from 3) to close the game after the Nets had cut L.A.'s once-26-point lead down to just eight with 11:42 remaining.

«It's incredible,» Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. «I told him in the huddle before his last little stretch and we ultimately subbed him out