The Los Angeles Lakers were riding a wave of momentum following a horrific 2-10 start to the season as they headed to Massachusetts for a Jan. 28 road game against their ancient archrival Boston Celtics.
They had blown a late lead and lost to the Celtics at home in December, and they were looking for revenge, not to mention a statement win.
Buy Lakers TicketsLeBron James, who considers himself a historian of basketball, came out aggressively, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and adding 10 more in the third quarter as L.A. built a sizable lead.
With 4.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 105, James drove the lane looking to win the game. He missed a layup right before the horn. Although replays showed him getting hacked by Jayson Tatum, no foul was called.
The four-time MVP scored seven more points in overtime, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 125-121 loss.
Still, he finished with an efficient 41 points, plus nine rebounds and eight assists, and had Tatum been called for fouling him at the end of regulation, he likely would’ve delivered a big win for the Purple and Gold.
