LeBron James was firing on all cylinders on Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, connecting on five of his six 3-pointers to muster a 44-point near-triple-double performance to notch a 126-117 win for the Lakers.
The backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum recognized that when the King has the stroke going from distance, there's little anyone can do to stop him.
“You got a guy, when LeBron gets rolling, he's making shots. It's one thing when he's attacking the rim, getting to the line, posting up or whatever, but when he's hitting threes, you have a completely different problem,” said Lillard, according to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints.
James also surpassed the great Wilt Chamberlain in the all-time scoring list, a feat that put things in perspective, as the Blazers faced one of the all-time greats in one of his best nights.
“Passing Wilt Chamberlain, that tells you how good he's been historically,” said McCollum. “When he's hitting threes from 35 feet, it's hard to guard him. He always gets to the basket and makes plays for others. When jump shots fall, it opens up everything for him.”
This Lakers team looked a lot different than it did during the season-opener, but Lillard recognized there's still more work to be done to reap the ultimate version of its capabilities.
“They have a lot of talent,” said Lillard of the Lakers. “I still don't think that, if you asked them, they would say they gelled how they want to gel. It's going to take time.”
Los Angeles is in a four-game win streak, hitting stride just as the mandate to win games has become clear in the City of Angels. The Blazers still boast a sizable lead, currently second in the West with a 10-4 record.
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