On December 29, the Lakers defeated the Hornets. Two days before James' 39th birthday, the Lakers, who had just experienced a loss in the Christmas game, had a must-win game against the injured Hornets. Although the opponent's strength is average, considering the Lakers' previous two games against the Spurs, one narrowly won, one sent the opponent to end an 18-game losing streak, and Ham's coaching ability, it is obvious that the Lakers can not be expected to win the welfare game too early.
The Hornets got off to a very accurate start and led the Lakers at one point. After the Lakers stabilized, they stalemate with the Hornets. The turning point of the game came in the second half, and the main contributor was James. James played well in the first half, not initiating individual offenses, focusing on assists. Because James may be tired, he may have to save energy, he may have to activate his teammates, in short, he did not let go. So the Lakers' offense is actually average, and Davis is mainly eye-catching. But James also has a huge presence, and his passes and assists are showy.
At the start of the second half, James decided to win the game. So James, who is almost 39 years old, made various sprints and directly turned positional warfare into fast offense - this is why James is so fast attacking, because he has the ability to turn positional warfare into fast offense, which many supergiants lack this ability. The Lakers relied on James' artificial goal wave to directly lead the Hornets by double digits. As soon as James exerted his strength, the Wasps fell.
At this moment, the Lakers still have hidden dangers, the first is that James is tired, and the second is that Davis has a foul problem. However, the rest of the Lakers' players were finally able to stand up, and instead of lowering the plus/minus, they continued to suppress the Hornets represented by Reaves, directly allowing James and Davis to clock out in advance. In this game, James shot 7 of 13, 1 of 1 free throw, 17 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists, and Davis had 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks.