LeBron, at 41, feeling young again

PHILADELPHIA:

LeBron James turns 42 in exactly two months and is in his record 24th National Basketball Association (NBA) season. He has already played the best games of his career.

James delivered his best one yet – yes, in a short sample size – with the 76ers on Friday night, turning in a vintage performance against the NBA champion New York Knicks.

He bullied his way past Mikal Bridges in the post for a bucket in the first half and chased down OG Anunoby for a blocked shot in the third quarter, plays that served as early hints that he still has an elite game when the Sixers need it most.

After the Sixers let a 14-point lead slip away in the fourth, it was James – not Joel Embiid or even Tyrese Maxey – who closed out the champs.

Go-ahead bucket

James then capped his best game of the season with the go-ahead bucket with 1:10 remaining, and V.J. Edgecombe buried an insurance 3-pointer for the four-point lead. James sealed the 98-93 win in an NBA Cup group game with a tip-in and nearly pulled off a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists.

“He’s been good,” coach Nick Nurse said, “but that was his best game for sure”.

There are not many meaningful personal statistics for James to chase, so this one will have to do. He tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the fifth-oldest player in NBA history to record a 20-point game.

They will not etch that one on the Hall of Fame plaque.

But a fifth NBA championship with his fourth team – after winning rings in Miami, Cleveland and with the Lakers – would be one for the record books.

The Sixers are off to a 5-1 start even with their regular starting five having started together only three times this season. They are already 2-0 this season against the NBA champions Knicks, after beating them in New York on opening night.

James signed a free-agent deal with the Sixers in large part to have fun, play with close friends such as Maxey, and win. After the first month of the season, consider James undefeated in those categories.

‘Great time’

“I’m having a great time,” James said. “I love what we’re bringing to the table every night. I love our competitive spirit. Guys show up to work. Guys are ready to work hard. It’s a fun group, too. I’m like a big-ass kid, to be completely honest. These guys are great to be around, and I’m more than happy I made the decision to come here.”

Embiid shot only three of 12 from the floor and scored only 10 points. Those are the types of numbers that doomed the Sixers for most of the last 10 years. Not this season. Not with Maxey dropping 27 points or Edgecombe stepping up like a seasoned veteran and burying the crucial late three-pointer.

And certainly not with LeBron James in the line-up.

“I’ve been in some huge games this sport has ever seen,” James said. “For me to be able to be a calming factor for our team, late game, it’s just the experience that I have. If that’s me with the ball, me without the ball, being able to put guys in the right position. Just talk them through it.”

Maxey walked shirtless into the locker room and needed a cover-up before he talked to the media swarm in front of the team backdrop.

No worries.

James tossed Maxey a sleeveless Sixers shirt from his locker.

Just one more assist from James on his best night yet as a Sixer.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry had 31 points, six assists and four rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors erased an early 25-point deficit, then ran away from the Los Angeles Lakers for a 112-95 win.

Also on Friday night, Miami Heat beat Indiana Pacers 145-125, Denver Nuggets beat Phoenix Suns 127-120, and Dallas Mavericks handed Houston Rockets their first loss this season in a 116-111 finish.

AP