LeBron James, after losing a crazy game against the Boston Celtics (118-122) on Tuesday, valued that the Los Angeles Lakers fought the match and was in a position to win even if they were ultimately defeated.
“We gave ourselves a chance to winbut we did not close it,” he told the media after the meeting.
“But I loved the effort, I loved our tenacity in the second half (…). We played like a very good team, but we were not able to close it”, added.
In an exciting duel and at the height of the legendary rivalry between the two teams, the Boston Celtics won this Tuesday in extra time against the Los Angeles Lakers in a volcanic duel in which LeBron’s men came back from -20 in the third quarter but they ruined a +13 in the last period (118-122).
Jayson Tatum gave a recital in Boston with 44 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and the Lakers had a huge duo made up of Anthony Davis (37 points and 12 rebounds) and LeBron (33 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists).
With these 33 points, LeBron added his game number 516 scoring more than 30 points, surpassed Wilt Chamberlain (515) and only has Michael Jordan ahead (562).
Apart from records, LeBron highlighted that, in the mammoth 32-5 run between the penultimate and the last period that allowed them to turn the game around, the Lakers “tried to be more physical” on defense to force “difficult shots” from Boston.
He also talked about Davis, who put in a great performance but missed two free throws in a row with 28 seconds remaining and that opened the door for Boston to force overtime.
LeBron said he understood his partner for being sad and hurt after that outcome.
“This means that he loves this sport. If it were the opposite and I was out there smiling you would be asking what kind of partner I have,” he said.
“I’m absolutely fine with how you feel,” LeBron said, assuring that he is “not at all worried” about this mistake by the center, which joins another free throw that he missed last week in the loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in another vibrant game.
Lastly, LeBron stressed that the responsibility for the defeat is collective (“we win together and we lose together”) and admitted that some rest would do him good after a game with overtime and full speed in which he played the entire second part except two minutes and a half.
“I’ll enjoy my day off tomorrow for sure,” he closed.