Lakers Highlights: LA Rides Season-Best LeBron James Scoring Night To Best OKC

Your Los Angeles Lakers' four-game losing streak is officially over.

Last night in a 129-120 victory over one of the West's, the 18-9 Oklahoma City Thunder, LA head coach Darvin Ham made a huge lineup change, finally demoting former starting point guard D'Angelo Russell to a bench role, while elevating power forward Jarred Vanderbilt to a starting gig.

So who played point, you ask?

While many of us here at All Lakers (like, say, me) believe reserve combo guard Austin Reaves, the team's clear third-best player, deserves to run the point as a starter, Ham opted to pull a 2019-20 Frank Vogel, moving All-NBA superstar LeBron James to a point guard role on offense, while having Vanderbilt guard All-Star Oklahoma City point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

James was the star of the show. Across 37:19, the 38-year-old James scored a season-most 40 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field (including a whopping 5-of-5 shooting from long range) and 9-of-9 shooting from the foul line. He also logged seven dimes, seven boards, two steals and two blocks, while registering a +10 plus-minus. It marked the 75th time James had scored 40 or more points in a regular season contest.

The 6'9" superstar was a crowd pleaser practically from the jump last night, with his age-defying feats even engaging the Thunder faithful:

Bron got him jumping. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/24tKkHV3Ma
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 24, 2023

Though the Thunder are young and athletic, they don't really have much in the way of a frontcourt 'Bron stopper. He got plenty of downhill looks in rhythm while helping LA build up a 26-point third quarter edge:

OKC meets the Bron train 🚂 pic.twitter.com/OW3O80bm5o
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 24, 2023

His three-point shooting was especially impressive, as it has been all year. Check out this pull-up triple over Rookie of the Year frontrunner Chet Holmgren, who might also be en route to an All-Star appearance if he keeps up his own impressive play (this Lakers post below is courting LA fans to vote for LA players, but still):

🥶 x 👑 #VoteLakers | https://t.co/mVlG4tkHX1 pic.twitter.com/iM8Lb0Sxpd
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 24, 2023

When the resilient Thunder cut the lead to as little as eight points halfway through the contest's fourth frame, James responded with 11 points during the game's final 4:29 in regulation to seal the win. The man has a flair for clutch buckets:

They can't guard the King 👑 pic.twitter.com/AfP0NDZfe9
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 24, 2023

LA closed with a lineup of Reaves, Cam Reddish, James, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis. Hachimura and Reaves were the two non-starters in the mix, with Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince sitting during this critical stretch. One wonders if Darvin Ham will at some point try that closing five to actually start a game (or perhaps this lineup with 3-and-D wing Taurean Prince in the place of Reddish), given that the trio of Reddish, Vanderbilt and Davis are all non-floor spacers.

The Lakers will have their work cut out for them in their next contest, when they face the 22-6 Boston Celtics in a Christmas Day matinee.