LeBron went scoreless in the first half for the first time since 2010.
LeBron James delivered an unusual night that hasn't been seen from him in recent years.
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
MIN: 35.83
PTS: 33.44 (56.75%)
REB: 7.88
AS: 8.37
ST: 1.61
BL: 0.56
TO: 4
GM: 59
On Monday in Detroit against the Pistons, James was held scoreless in the first half of the game. In 19 minutes, he went 0-of-5 from the field for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This marked the first time that he had no points through the first 24 minutes of the game since 2010, and just the third throughout his 23-year career.
While James managed to tally 12 points in 4-of-10 shooting at the end of the Lakers' 113-110 loss against the Pistons, he made it clear that his scoreless first-half shouldn't shock everyone out of his current role within Los Angeles.
“It's the role that I'm playing for the ball club," James told reporters after the loss regarding his scoreless first half. "In order for us to win ball games, it's the role that I'm playing, and that’s just how the game has gone.”
Throughout the season, James has fully embraced being the Lakers' third option. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the way, the 41-year-old settled himself in the most supplementary role of his career.
James let both Doncic and Reaves take it over for the Lakers against the Pistons, as the two dropped 32 and 24 points, respectively. Yet unfortunately, they came up short in crunch time against the Eastern Conference's best that saw their nine-game win streak being snapped.
Despite the low scoring, James still almost dropped a triple-double. He registered 10 assists and nine rebounds, which JJ Redick sees as a key element despite a scoreless half.
"I thought he played a really unselfish game. Ended up with 10 assist. We missed him a couple times," Redick said in the postgame.
"We ran some plays for him and he did a really good job of not just trying to score and make the right play like he always does and got 10 assists."
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