The Los Angeles Lakers were 21 points ahead of the Houston Rockets in the second quarter Tuesday, when LeBron James took the show of dominance to another ridiculous level.
After grabbing a food in the corner in front of the Lakers bench, James used a fake bomb to line up a triple when he heard a voice in his ear coming from behind him. He was Lakers goalie Dennis Schroder.
“I told him to bet on a Benjamin, so he fired,” Schroder said after LA’s 117-100 win. “He shot him, turned around and said, ‘Bet.’ Then he came in. It’s just legendary.”
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LeBron James claims that Dennis Schroder bet he wouldn’t do a no-look 3 while shooting. It also addresses comparisons to Steph Curry’s faceless triples.
It wasn’t just making a 3 over Ben McLemore to double the Rockets ’48-24 lead that was memorable. It was the delivery. You see, James turned to Schroder to collect the $ 100 while the ball was still in the air.
“I took the bet while still throwing the ball,” James said, finishing with 26 points as the Lakers improved their best league record to 9-3. “A bet isn’t official until you look a man in the eye, so I had to look him in the eye and I was able to win it.”
James’ companions immediately appreciated his display.
“He’s one of the greatest who plays this game and the things he does are always crazy to see them in real time,” Kyle Kuzma said.
In a sport where players are taught to follow their shot from an early age, what James did is not something that is seen too often. Gilbert Arenas exploded once with a 3. winner of the match. Former Lakers goalie Nick Young, famously, had the move against him when his shot ended. And Stephen Curry, considered the best shooter the game has ever known, will pull it off from time to time.
“Steph [has] you’ve probably done more in our league and when you throw the ball as beautifully, effortlessly and accurately as Steph does, you have the ultra green light to do it, ”James said of his former final enemy. of the NBA “. “Because ten times again, he’s going for Steph.”
And James, who went 4-for-9 of 3 on Tuesday, coming off a 1-for-11 stretch in his last two deep games, also has the green light. Whether it’s spinning while the ball is in mid-flight or pulling up the logo to let it fly, as it has done with increasing frequency.
“We’re encouraging him to beat the defenses,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “There are several reasons for this: (A) he’s probably the best shooter on our team. And (B) they play him softly. They go under the screens. … In terms of ‘four-point’ shots he takes, it has the green light to take them because it makes them. “
James ’no-look 3 made the Rockets fall free (now 3-6 after losing four of their last five) seem silly.
“It doesn’t feel right. It certainly doesn’t,” Houston coach Stephen Silas said. “Obviously, they’re a group together and they’re having fun at our expense. So it doesn’t feel right at all and we should be in the shade. It’s like they’re dancing on our track. We just have to fight. We have to fight. for that “.
The Lakers bench exploded after the shot came in, with several of James’ teammates chasing him down the court as he ran back on defense. Vogel and James said part of the team’s mission this season is to rebuild the chemistry that helped bring them to the championship last year. Moments like this bring the group together.
“Everyone had fun,” Schroder said. “Everyone was talking about it, even during downtime. It was just a play.”
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.