LOS ANGELES — LeBron James stood outside the paint during the first quarter Saturday night at Staples Center, the Lakers’ season in as bad of a spot as it had been at any point, as he slumped over at his waist. His right arm dangled from his shoulder like cooked pasta as he tried to shake feeling into his fingers.
He had just been fouled and needed to shoot a free throw. But James looked over at the Lakers’ bench and shook his head, coach Frank Vogel quickly taking a timeout. James spent that break receiving treatment on his right arm, a massage gun quickly firing against the muscle, before he came back on the floor and made the free throw.
It was one point — one of 56 in one of the best games he has ever played.
