LeBron, LA withstand Spurs rally

LeBron James had no idea why he was so tired. He slept 11 hours overnight, missing his company Christmas party in the process, and then had a 2½hour nap before the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against San Antonio.

Perhaps his body just knew he would need all that stored-up energy to hold off the Spurs during a frantic finish.

James scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and Josh Hart hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes of the Lakers’ fourth straight victory, 121113 on Wednesday night.

Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who lost Brandon Ingram to a sprained left ankle in the first quarter. Los Angeles still beat the Spurs for the first time in three tries this season, but only after James dramatically took control of another fourth quarter during his third 40-point game since joining the Lakers.

“It’s the fourth quarter, and my teammates look at me to make plays,” James said with a shrug. “Sometimes it doesn’t happen that way but I put that type of pressure on my back because I love my teammates giving me that responsibility.”

James went 7-of-8 from the field with three 3-pointers in the fourth, but he was quick to point out he had plenty of help from younger Lakers, even after Ingram went down. Kuzma scored nine points in the fourth, including a key dunk on a pass from James with 2:13 left, while Hart and Lonzo Ball both hit big 3s.

Everything added up to an impressive finish by the Lakers, who improved to 15-9 with their eighth win in their last nine home games.

“You just know” when James is about to take over a game, Hart said. “I’ve said it before. He’s the best ever to put on a uniform. When it’s happening, sometimes it’s amazing. People should stop criticizing, shut up and enjoy his greatness.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Rudy Gay had a season-high 31 before fouling out for the Spurs in the first of back-to-back games in three days to wrap up the season series between these longtime West rivals. They’ll meet again in San Antonio on Friday night.

“We made everything tough for them, (but) it got away from us in the fourth quarter,” DeRozan said. “Even though we were scoring, going back and forth, we couldn’t get those critical stops when we needed them, and that killed us.”

Ingram is staying home from the Lakers’ upcoming two-game road trip and was scheduled to have a precautionary MRI exam last night.

Elsewhere in the NBA — Cleveland Cavaliers center

Tristan Thompson was fined $15,000 for making an “inappropriate gesture” to a spectator. and the end of Monday night’s win at Brooklyn.