LeBron James scored 12 of his 33 points in the game’s first nine minutes Sunday night, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-101 win against the visiting Atlanta Hawks.
James finished with 12 assists and seven rebounds, and was “just trying to put on a show” for Kobe Bryant, who sat courtside with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Maria “Gigi” Bryant.
Trae Young paced Atlanta with 31 points, and called the Lakers “one of the best defensive teams in the league.”
Per The LA Times:
“That’s one of the greatest players to ever play this game, take time out of his day on a Sunday,” James said.
“He’s got one of the greatest female players that’s about to come up sitting next to him in Gigi. So I’m just trying to put on a show for him and give him a reason like, ‘OK, we might come to another game.’”
Bryant added spice to an otherwise quotidian night for the Lakers. They beat a team they were supposed to beat at home, just like they have been for most of the season. With Sunday’s 122-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks (4-9), the Lakers improved to 11-2, their best record since the 2010-11 season.
“It’s just dope,” James said. “It’s just so surreal for me just a kid from Akron to be able to have a guy like Kobe just take time out of his day. Even at this point in my career it’s still special.”
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