Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James - Don't plan on stopping amid 'one of the best zones offensively' of career

MIAMI — Anthony Davis' left knee injury coincided with an offensive explosion from LeBron James, as his 33 points in Sunday night's 113-107 loss to the Miami Heat marked the 17th straight game that the Los Angeles Lakers star has scored 25 points or more. All with Davis out.

With Davis potentially returning as soon as Tuesday from the sprained MCL in his left knee when L.A. plays the Brooklyn Nets, James made it sound like his offensive output could continue at a prolific pace.

«I don't need to score 30 a night, but I'm in one of the best zones offensively I've been in, in my career,» the 19-year veteran said. «And I don't plan on stopping. That's just how I feel. I feel fantastic. Shooting the ball extremely well. Didn't shoot the 3-ball well tonight, but all eight of them felt great. Shooting efficient from the free throw line, shooting efficient from the field. Very efficient at the rim.

»So I don't go into the game saying you got to score 30 or you guys don't have a chance to win the game. I just play the game. The scoring has been happening organically."

James went 12-for-22 against the Heat but was 11-for-14 if his 3-point attempts are subtracted. He also went 8-for-11 from the free throw line.

He is averaging 32.5 points over the past 17 games — the second most in the league in that stretch behind only Philadelphia's Joel Embiid (33.9) — while shooting 53.4% from the field. L.A. has gone 7-10 in the stretch.

The scoring run has lifted James' average to 29.0 points per game, second in the league behind Brooklyn's Kevin Durant (29.3). It's the fourth-highest scoring average of his career and the most he has averaged in more than a decade, since he put up 29.7 points per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009-10.

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