LeBron scored 42 points in Wednesday nigh’s come-form-behind win, a 121-113 victory against the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Per ESPN:
James scored 20 in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers erase an eight-point deficit with 8 minutes, 46 seconds remaining. Afterward, James was asked if his performance was fueled in anyway by all the talk surrounding him in recent days.
“No, for what? I’m past the [taking things] personal stage,” James said after his third game of 40-plus points this season. “I can do whatever. I can have a huge workload, I can have a not so huge workload. … It doesn’t matter for me. What’s most important is seeing my teammates make huge shots in the fourth quarter. … That’s what’s most important to me. I can care less about the narrative about me. It doesn’t matter. I’m a staple in this game.”
The Staples Center crowd also recognized James’ performance, serenading the 16-year veteran with a loud “MVP!” chant midway through the fourth quarter.
“Well, he’s obviously in that top group,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said of James’ MVP case. “It’s early. We count on LeBron to do a lot for us and there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with the type of comedian he is. And I’ve been very impressed with how he handles it and how he continues to work and make winning the ultimate thing. For somebody of his talent that’s won as much as he has, for winning to still be the ultimate prize for him, I think really speaks to him and how he is and the way that he works and preps and the way that he just carries himself.
“So where he is right now [in the MVP race]? That’s too early to say, but he’s absolutely having that type of season.”