LeBron James shined against the Heat in back-to-back

LeBron James brought up the narrative on his own. 

Clearly it had been bothering him. He has thick skin but this penetrated it. He ignores the white noise but this broke through. 

Are the Lakers better without LeBron James?

After the 41-year-old James had 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the Lakers’ 131-124 win over Heat on Thursday, he addressed the elephant in the room. 

But first, a little more context. 

What makes his second triple-double of the season even more impressive?

He did it on the tail end of a back-to-back, less than 24 hours after having 30 points on 13-for-14 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the Lakers’ 124-116 win over the Rockets on Wednesday. 

So, when asked if the Lakers winning eight straight and 11 of their last 12 contests was a result of him, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves figuring things out, James chose to clear the air. 

“It sells papers a lot easier and clippings and podcasts if you say ‘LeBron, that their team is better off without him,’” James said. “A lot of people will try to like view it, so I get it. But they’re absolutely wrong.”

That storyline popped up two weeks ago after the Lakers won three games in a row without James over the Pacers, Knicks and Timberwolves, improving to 10-2 when the megastar is out of the lineup. 

Only, it was flawed. 

The Lakers weren’t better without James, who’s averaging 21.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists this season. The four-time champion and four-time MVP, who’s the only player to reach 23 seasons, just needed to figure out how to fit alongside Doncic and Reaves. 

When James was sidelined, it became increasingly clear that James needed to be the third option. The league’s all-time leading scorer who’s used to having the ball in his hands had to defer. He had to sacrifice. 

He embraced that. And the Lakers have since looked like contenders. 

Now, a new narrative about James has sprung up following what he did in consecutive games at an age when most players have deteriorated to shells of themselves or retired.

“He’s a psycho,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. 

Added Austin Reaves: “He’s got to be insane. Can’t be normal. Things going on in his brain to do it so well at such a high level. There’s nothing left to prove. But he finds something to continue to motivate him. It’s a beautiful thing.”

James quietly starred on a night when Doncic was in the spotlight, finishing with 60 points on 60 percent shooting from the field, including making nine 3-pointers. Doncic also had seven rebounds and five steals.

Doncic was the engine. But James was the rudder.

James’ impact extended beyond the stat sheet. The mere fact that he chose to play in the Lakers’ most brutal turnaround of the season set the tone for the evening.

James, Doncic and Reaves were all listed as questionable heading into Thursday’s game. But Doncic and Reaves decided to overlook their fatigue and soreness when they heard James was going to be on the floor. 

“When he said he was playing, I was like, I can’t let a 41-year-old play and I not play, so signed up to play and so do did Luka and we went and grinded the win out,” said Reaves, who had 18 points, five rebounds and two assists.

What made James’ night even more special is he did this in his return to Miami, where he played from 2010-2014, leading the Heat to the Finals four straight seasons and winning two championships. 

It could’ve been James’ final game in Miami, considering he remains undecided about his future with 12 games remaining in the season. 

Unlike his return to Cleveland in January, there was no tribute video. And there were no tears. 

But Thursday was surely another twist of the dagger for Heat president Pat Riley, who acknowledged during his statue unveiling ceremony at Crypto.com Arena last month that he wished James played “another six or eight years” for the Heat. 

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James became a champion in Miami. His legend was born in Cleveland but it set sail next to the Atlantic Ocean. James was in his mid-to-late 20s when he played for the Heat. He was at the peak of his athleticism. When Kevin Durant was recently asked who’s the toughest player he has ever had to guard in an NBA video, he didn’t hesitate: “Miami Heat Bron.”

There were so many highlights.

He exploded for a 45-point, 15-rebound and 5-assist performance in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat facing elimination. He scored a career-high 61 points in 2014. He helped the Heat win 27 games in a row in 2013, the second longest win-streak in NBA history.

Now, twelve years and a few gray hairs later, James is still shining in Miami.

He became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double again on Thursday, breaking his own record that he set last month when he had a 28-point, 10-rebound and 12-assist performance against the Mavericks.

Oh, and he tied Hall of Fame Robert Parish’s record for all-time games played at 1,611 against the Heat.

“I’ve always wanted to be available to my teammates, either in Cleveland, here (in Miami), and now in LA,” James said. “So it takes a lot. It’s a mental toll, man, trying to play a lot and being out there throughout this whole thing, and then under the circumstances that I kind of been given. And it’s just a lot man. I just give a lot of praise to the man above.”

During James’ tenure with the Heat, he began etching his face into the Mt. Rushmore of basketball legends.

And against the Heat, he wiped away the dust, reminding everyone that arguably the greatest player of all-time is still great.

Oh, and the Lakers sure as heck aren’t better without him.