Thursday 12 December 2019 12:43, UK
LeBron James said the Los Angeles Lakers showed the "ingredients for winning" as they battled to a hard-fought 96-87 victory over the Orlando Magic to record their 12th straight road win.
James has made a career out of carrying his team through tough stretches, and in his 17th season, he has not lost a step. He recorded 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his sixth triple-double this season.
Anthony Davis had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 for the Lakers.
Orlando had rallied from 24 points down to tie the game at 71-71 on a three-pointer from Michael Carter-Williams with 10:48 left in the game.
James pulled the plug on the Magic comeback. He assisted on the Lakers' next three possessions, hitting a cutting Avery Bradley in the lane for a lay-up, Alex Caruso for a corner three and Jared Dudley for another wide-open three-pointer.
"He is the best in the world for a reason," Caruso said. "Him just getting to the paint draws so many bodies, they were open on the backside. He creates a lot of attention so it is up to us to play off that and we did a good job tonight."
James finished the run with a defensive rebound and a bullish drive through the Magic defense for a layup and 81-71 lead with 7:47 left in the game.
The Magic never got closer than five after that.
Speaking on court after the game, James said: "We are a composed group, no matter the circumstances, be it at home or on the road. To be able to calm your head if the fourth quarter, be able to execute and get stops, those are the ingredients for winning.
"It starts on the defensive end, we held a team to 87 on their home floor. When we don't play well offensively - we didn't tonight, we turned the ball over a lot - but we defend, we give ourselves a good chance.
"I wanted us to start this road trip off the right way and be able to set tone. We did that for the first two quarters, let our foot off the gas in the third which made it a game, and then executed in the fourth quarter to win the game.
"I'm happy about the win even though I don't look like it but I'm not satisfied with the way we played. We've just got to be a lot better."
Watch the Lakers take on the Miami Heat live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Saturday morning (1am)