LeBron James had two chances to send Wednesday night’s game between the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers into overtime. Unfortunately for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, he came up short.
With the Lakers trailing 100-97 in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, JJ Redick drew up a play for James to get the game-tying shot attempt. Although his 3-pointer came up short, Gabe Vincent was able to get the offensive rebound and kick it back out to No. 23.
The second attempt from downtown wasn’t the cleanest look, but James elevated over the defender to get the shot off. Once again though, he was simply off the mark.
As you’d expect, the crowd in Los Angeles was deflated by this sequence. James, meanwhile, said he “felt pretty good” about getting the final shot.
“We run the set that JJ draws up,” James told reporters. “You execute it. And we executed it. We just didn’t make it.”
LeBron misses back-to-back game-tying threes. 😬
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 20, 2025
After Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles went final, ESPN’s “Get Up” crew shared a concerning statistic about James’ late-game shooting.
Since joining the Lakers, James has gone 1-of-29 on game-tying or go-ahead field goal attempts. Obviously, that’s not a great look for one of the best players in league history.
Make no mistake about it, this statistic from ESPN will give the “LeBron isn’t clutch” group a ton of ammo heading into the weekend.
If James’ struggles in late-game situations continue, the Lakers may consider drawing up plays for Luka Doncic. Of course, that’s once he’s back to full strength.
For the record, Doncic made it clear that he was OK with James getting the last shot against the Hornets.
“He had it going, so obviously we’re going to go to him,” Doncic said. “I think it will go both ways. One time it’s going to be him, one time me. So I think it depends how the game is going.”
The Lakers will be back in action tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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