Lakers down, LeBron James up big

By Julia McIntyre

LOS ANGELES (Compton Bulletin) - It was a busy week in Los Angeles as LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record on Tuesday night during the game against Oklahoma City. James went past 38,388 overall career points, sending every fan in Crypto. com Arena into a pure adrenaline rush.

The energy in the arena was incomparable. James hit the landmark of all landmarks, but the Lakers fell short to the Thunder with a final score of 133-130. The Lakers stayed close to Oklahoma City’s trail throughout the game but could not finish with the win. During his postgame press conference, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said the team was more engaged in what James was doing.

“The guys wanted to see what LeBron did tonight,” Ham said. “The focus was more about trying to get LeBron to the record as opposed to just playing natural basketball.”

The top game players for the Lakers were Anthony Davis who ended the game with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.

Russell Westbrook, playing in his last game as a Laker, chipped in with 27 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. James tallied 38 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in a losing cause.

The new all-time scoring king only needed 36 points to obtain the title.

He hit the goal toward the end of the third quarter, with a signature fadeaway jump shot. There was a roar of cheer that shook all of Los Angeles. The legendary athlete raised his hands up and ran to the opposite side of the court in celebration.

Although James said back in December that he would not cry when he broke the record, the Laker forward got emotional as the event sunk in. The game was paused for Abdul-Jabbar to congratulate James and pass on the title.

During the postgame press conference, James was asked if he knew he was going to break the record during Tuesday’s game. James responded, “Tomorrow is not promised. And if I had an opportunity to do it tonight, I was gonna try to make it happen.”

In the fourth quarter the final buzzer went off before the Lakers could catch the Thunder, and they lost by three points. The event filled week for L.A. continued Thursday night with a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Lakers put up a solid fight and were in the lead for most of the game until the third quarter when they fell behind to the Bucks about 10 points.

The Lakers could not seem to catch up throughout the fourth, and lost to Milwaukee, 115-106.

The starting five lineup was a bit different Thursday as James was sitting out due to his ankle injury acting up.

The trade deadline also required a few players to hang up their purple and gold jerseys. Davis, Troy Brown Jr., Rui Hachimura, Dennis Schröder, and Max Christie successfully set the table for the Lakers in the beginning of the game. They had a lead at least once in every quarter and stayed consistent the whole match. Their chemistry was undeniable, even if they will have to get used to a new type of roster.

The stars of the game were Schröder with 25 points, two rebounds, and 12 assists, Davis with 23 points, 16 rebounds, and two assists, and Austin Reaves with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Reaves was out with a hamstring injury for the past 16 games and this week was his first time back on the court. He looked strong and impressed the arena when he juked out Giannis

Antetokounmpo with a crossover. During the postgame interview, Reaves said, “It was just a basketball instinct…I was like well I gotta make a play somehow so good move, it worked and got a layup.”