Sunday’s game saw L.A. Lakers star LeBron James play the worst quarter in his 16-year career.
The Los Angeles Lakers were toppled by the New York Knicks in a 124-123 final and James was a major part of that loss.
In a quarter which culminated in James having his would-be game-winning shot blocked by Mario Hezonja, the Lakers forward went 4-for-15 from the field in the fourth quarter, ESPN reported. His whopping eleven missed shots became the worst quarter in his career.
To make matters worse, the March 17 game with the Knicks marks New York’s only sweep of the year. The Knicks are one of the worst teams in the league, but the Lakers were the only team they were able to sweep all season.
The Lakers did rise to take the momentum in that final quarter, but with repeated misses, it just wasn’t enough to drag the game into the win column.
James was dutifully dour over the loss.
“It bothers me in the fact we didn’t close the game out and being the competitor that I am, it bothers me that I didn’t make enough plays down the stretch; it bothers me that I didn’t even get a shot up at the hoop,” James said after the game. “Of course, that stuff bothers me, but I mean what’s the difference between their record and our record? Two teams out of the postseason. So there’s no difference. We have a couple more wins than them, but both teams right now are on the outside looking in, so it’s not much of a difference.”
But James also insisted the Lakers want to be winners.
“Listen, at the end of the day this franchise wants to win and wants to win big, and the one thing about the franchise, they cater to the players,” James said. “And that’s it. Everything else comes secondary, they only want us to go out and perform at a high level and play the game at a high level so we can be mentioned with some of the great teams that’s in the league at that point in time. ”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.