On his 38th birthday, LeBron James put up a remarkable performance: 47 points on 18-of-27 shooting, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 130-121, on Friday.
James started the season sluggishly, much like an old car that hadn’t been started in a few weeks and needed to be cranked a few times for the engine to turn over.
But lately, James’ engine has been running hot, and the way he has been playing has defied the insane amount of mileage and wear and tear on his body.
With every Laker game in December in the books, he averaged 31.2 points on 54% shooting, 7.6 rebounds and 7 assists a game in the month.
It is reminiscent of what he did last December when he put up 30.7 points on 55.5% accuracy, 9.3 boards and 6.5 dimes a contest.
This December included an amazing run of seven consecutive 30-point games that rivals any streak by any player at or near his age.
First Laker in 10 years with seven consecutive 30-point games 🔥 @KingJames x #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/jeP5a3QnVs
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 2, 2022
Unfortunately, it hasn’t resulted in that many wins. The Lakers closed December with a dismal 7-9 record. But James has done just about all that he has reasonably been able to do to help his team try to claw its way into the Western Conference playoff picture.
