James closed with 22 points (9-21 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 3-6 FT), seven rebounds, six assists and two steals across 40 minutes during Wednesday's 103-96 loss to the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The home crowd might have seen James' last appearance in a Laker uniform Tuesday evening, as the rumors about his retirement dominated the post-game conversation. James faced the same scrutiny last season after the Lakers fell to the Nuggets, but he left little doubt about his return once Bronny James was added to the Lakers' roster. With his dream of playing alongside his son satisfied, James may decide to hang it up, but it's an open question for the time being.
James ended Sunday's 116-113 loss to Minnesota in Game 4 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs with 27 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 15-18 FT), 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals across 46 minutes.
The future Hall of Famer nearly produced his 29th career playoff triple-double, and his first since the 2019-20 postseason. James had to settle for his third straight double-double, and he's averaging 26.3 points, 9.5 boards, 5.5 assists, 2.3 threes, 2.3 blocks and 2.0 steals through the first four games of the series. James is now third on the NBA's all-time list in playoff double-doubles with 144, behind only Tim Duncan (164) and Magic Johnson (157).
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Lakers' LeBron James: Vintage performance not enough
Rotowire
James produced 38 points (13-21 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 7-10 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals across 41 minutes during Friday's 116-104 loss to Minnesota in Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
James put the Lakers on his back, doing a lot more of the dirty work due to the fact Luka Doncic was feeling under the weather. While Doncic still managed to play 40 minutes, he was clearly bothered, meaning James had to take control of the team. Despite scoring a game-high 38 points, it was not enough, as the Lakers came up short and fell behind 2-1 in the series.
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