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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

LeBron James’ men thundered in the In-Season Tournament to lift the NBA Cup. Subsequently, they faced a losing streak. And now, LeBron delivered a 40-point performance against the Thunder to get them a much-needed win. Los Angeles Lakers had a comfortable 129-120 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunders.

They earlier lost to the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, and Minnesota Timberwolves. With injuries troubling the team from time to time, LeBron’s men decided to double down. LeBron shared his motivation for the victory later.

LeBron James on what powered the win

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After the game, LeBron James shared what motivated him to score a blistering knock. He took to his Instagram story posted his picture and wrote, “Gotta be O-H”, referring to his native place Ohio where he also delivered a 40-point performance. And coincidentally his opponents in today’s game are Oklahoma (also O-H). He posted a wink emoji in the caption. Also, he wore the shoes manufactured by Nike for Ohio State University.

With consecutive losses, the Lakers were down in confidence with a 1-5 record since the In-Season tournament. Anthony Davis said that the game against Thunders was a must-win. LeBron gave a snapshot of his feelings saying how he felt after playing match-winning knocks. LeBron said, “To know I can go out and still make game-winning plays, can affect the game in multiple ways, and can still close out a game in the fourth quarter when our team needed when they started making a run is always a good feeling for sure,” 

His shooting was awesome firing 13 out of 20 from the field. He also scored five 3-pointers and didn’t miss any. He made 9 free throws and tallied 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. After the match, LeBron said what made the difference.

Lakers winning strategy

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Riding high on confidence after snapping a 9-match winning streak of the Los Angeles Clippers, Thunder couldn’t create the magic again. They had 3 match straight wins. Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Jalen Williams added 34 and 28 points respectively. Chet Holmgren chipped in 19 points. Despite the fight coach of the Thunders felt that the Lakers were hungry to win. Anthony Davis chipped in 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves added 21 and 11 points respectively.

LeBron James detailed how they combined playmaking with aggressive shooting to clinch the victory. LeBron James explained, “Everyone was making shots and everybody was passing the ball. We were trying to keep it on time, on target, and not turn the ball over. That was the key to it.”

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