LeBron James walked through the visiting locker room on Christmas afternoon and wondered if there was music playing in the Chase Center.
When a DJ bumped into Ludacris at the hoop where the Lakers were warming up in the early 2000s, James broke the routine by dancing and smiling.
Like every player in the league before or since, James is aware of the podium. And even after doing it 18 times before in 21 seasons, a spot on the court on Christmas Eve with everyone watching hit him like a triple espresso.
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Against Stephen Curry and the Warriors in a big game? Old news for James, who battled one of his biggest rivals in five different playoff series (and one play-in game).
But in the context of this season, with James days away from his 40th birthday, he looked like someone who wanted to enjoy things.
He embraced the Curry pregame, the two summer Olympic teammates still enjoying that experience. He ran onto the field after halftime and stopped at the end of the tunnel to playfully dance to “Not Like Us” with Chase Center security. And in action, he turned in an age-defying performance for the unexpectedly short-handed Lakers in a 115-113 win against the Warriors with timely help from Austin Reaves.
After a flurry of Curry buckets in the fourth, Reaves drove past Andrew Wiggins and scored with one second left to seal the victory.
Without D’Angelo Russell for the entire game and Anthony Davis out for most of it, James didn’t just use his old-man strength to bully in the paint. He jumped passing lines, dug in and deflected on double teams, whipped middies and bullied smaller defenders between him and the rim.
Russell did not play after suffering a sprained thumb in the Lakers’ loss to Detroit on Monday. Davis, a player who has feasted against smaller Golden State lineups, played just seven scoreless minutes before leaving with a sprained left ankle.
It meant that even the most energetic version of James needed help. He got it on Wednesday.
Reaves scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the third triple-double of his career. Rui Hachimura scored 18 and hit five threes, grinning at the Lakers bench as he ran back into the defense. Max Christie and Gabe Vincent chased Curry, and rookie Dalton Knecht, mired in a month-long slump, scored 13 points off the bench.
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But winning is always hard – and the Warriors, like James, don’t shy away from the biggest stages.
Ex-Laker Dennis Schroder hit a three after a James block, and Curry hit a driving layup to cut the Lakers’ lead to two within 30 seconds.
Christie made a pair of free throws, but Curry hit an insanely difficult three over James deep in the corner, making it a one-point game. Reaves hit both free throws, but the door was still open.
And Curry got enough of a Draymond Green screen to make another three, this time without anyone on him, to tie the game with six seconds left before Reaves won the game for the Lakers on a drive- layup.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
