James has fun against nemesis
Lakers star plays only first half against the Warriors and puts on a show to boot.
LAS VEGAS — Just a few feet past midcourt, Lakers forward LeBron James stood, frozen in front of a delirious crowd.
At the halftime buzzer, James made a three-point basket from 34 feet against his once NBA Finals nemesis Golden State Warriors.
James stared at the basket for a few moments. Magic Johnson clenched his fists as he meandered a few feet onto the court, grinning.
Then James turned toward the crowd with a near-smile on his face, an audience spotted with former players who won championships with the Lakers.
Yes, that halftime scene was just a moment in a meaningless exhibition game. But at that instant, though, nobody seemed to care.
The Lakers beat the defending NBA champion Warriors 123-113 on Wednesday night in the first of two exhibition games between the teams. James played 17 minutes 37 seconds, all in the first half. He scored 15 points on five-for-eight shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists.
Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 26 points and the Warriors were led by Stephen Curry with 23 points. Kevin Durant fouled out after scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in 24 minutes.
The teams will reunite Friday in San Jose for their final dress rehearsal before
the real thing begins.
James was asked Wednesday morning how facing the Warriors in an exhibition game compared with facing them in the Finals.
“It’s exactly the same,” James said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Preseason game versus Finals game, it’s exactly the same. It’s exactly the same.”
As exhibition games go, this one was about as fraught with meaning as one can be.
It was James’ first game against the Warriors in a Lakers uniform. In each of his four seasons in Cleveland, James met the Warriors in the Finals. Before the game, he greeted some of his opponents, like Durant, with whom he embraced and shared a laugh.
“No matter what jersey he’s got to put on there, same player, same feel for their game,” Durant said. “It’s pretty cool for Lakers fans and West Coast fans to see LeBron out here on the west side. Deep culture of basketball here, especially in L.A., up and down the coast, pretty fun as a fan.”
It was the first time Lonzo Ball played this preseason, and consequently, his first bit of game action with James.
Ball showed some rust given that he hasn’t played organized basketball since March. Ball, who had arthroscopic knee surgery in July, entered the game with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter, replacing Rajon Rondo. He played 23:22 and had seven points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals.
There were moments when Ball and James connected. On one play, the two connected for an alley-oop from James to Ball.
JaVale McGee faced the team with which he won a championship last season. At one point, Curry made a three-pointer in front of the Lakers bench and posed in front of it, producing a muted shimmy in McGee’s direction. Lakers coach Luke Walton, a Warriors assistant before the Lakers hired him, walked along the sideline with Curry likely offering a bit of trash talk.
The Warriors and Lakers know each other well and familiarity can breed contempt. During the exhibition season, the contempt is a little more lighthearted.