LeBron James remained vague about his NBA future, suggesting a potential retirement timeline after an impressive performance.
"Not very long. I'm not going to play another 21 years, that's for sure," James stated, following a standout shooting display in which he matched his career-high with 9 three-pointers out of 10 attempts. I don't know when that door will close, but I don't have much time left."
In his 1,485th career game, James displayed his enduring skill, scoring 40 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 116-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The sellout crowd at Barclays Center cheered as James completed his remarkable shooting performance in the fourth quarter.
This marked his third 40-point game of the season, with his previous achievement on March 16 in a home game against Golden State.
The Lakers have won five of six since then, and this victory moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games remaining in the regular season. Los Angeles remained ninth in the Western Conference, but the Lakers could catch the Sacramento Kings for eighth or the Phoenix Suns for seventh in the West, taking them out of the single-elimination No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game.
If James has another game like this in the postseason, just about anything is possible for the NBA's career scoring leader, who continues to amaze at age 39.
The 20-time All-Star finished 13 for 17 overall as the Lakers played the fourth game of a six-game road trip and rebounded from a loss Friday night at Indiana that snapped their five-game winning streak.
"I put in a lot of time working on my craft," James said.
Anthony Davis added 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Rui Hachimura had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game the Lakers led by 20 in the first quarter and controlled throughout. Brooklyn got its deficit inside double digits just once in the second half.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 30 points, trying to rally them after their dismal start.
"But can't do nothing when somebody hits 9 for 10 from 3," Thomas said. "Made every 3 he put up, so it's tough, but I feel like we played really well second through the fourth. It was just the first quarter was pretty tough on us, starting that slow,"
The Lakers got 114 of their 116 points from their starters.
James also made nine 3-pointers on Jan. 24, 2023, against the Clippers, shooting 9 for 14. His 90% accuracy was the second-best of his career in games in which he made at least five 3-pointers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He was 5 for five against Oklahoma City on Dec. 23 of this season.
Brooklyn was 0 for eight from the field when interim coach Kevin Ollie called his first timeout just over 4 minutes into the first quarter. James grabbed a defensive rebound and hit Davis in stride with a long pass for a breakaway dunk. The futility continued until Nic Claxton broke the ice after an 0-for-11 start by banking in a 10-footer.
Still, the lead rapidly grew to 24-4 with 4 ½ minutes left in the opening quarter, and the Barclays Center crowd was silenced as the Nets were laying this particular Easter egg. The Lakers' lead was 31-10 after one quarter as Brooklyn shot 4-for-21 and was outrebounded 21-11.
James kept single-handedly holding off the Nets in the third and fourth quarters with 3s, the eighth of which came as he fell to his left from the corner to give the Lakers a 108-91 lead.
James was then isolated against Claxton on the perimeter on the next possession and dribbled between his legs several times before making his ninth 3, making it 111-93.
