LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were playing for their season in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night. The Nuggets entered with a commanding 3-0 series lead, one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. The 38-year-old James knew he had to empty the tank to keep the Lakers’ season alive, and the result was one of the best first half performances of his career.
LeBron James botched an alley-oop pass so badly it went in for 3-pointer
LeBron accidentally hit a three on an alley-oop pass with the Lakers’ season on the line.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
James scored 31 points in the first half of Game 4 on 11-of-13 shooting as the Lakers headed into the break with a 15-point halftime lead. James was so hot that even the passes he missed ended up going in the basket.
James and the Lakers ultimately ran out of gas in the second half. The Nuggets are going to the NBA Finals for the first time ever with a 113-111 win.
During the first quarter, James was trapped by two Nuggets defenders and tried to fire a pass to teammate Rui Hachimura as he cut to the rim. Hachimura would have had an easy dunk if the pass was on the mark, but instead it missed so badly that it went in for a three-pointer. Watch the video here:
Everyone should have believed this was James’ night when this shot went in.
James has been struggling with his three-point shot since the playoffs started. He entered the night shooting 15.8 percent from three in the series vs. Denver, and 24.2 percent from three in the 2023 playoffs.
The Lakers’ season is over, but LeBron went out with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Not bad for a player in Year 20.
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