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LeBron James was not a happy man on Wednesday. A few hours before the 19-year veteran superstar turned 37, LeBron and the LA Lakers lost to Memphis Grizzlies in a game they should have won. The Lakers lost 99-104 despite being ahead by as many as 14 points (80-66) in the second half at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
The visitors were outscored 19-38 the rest of the way as Memphis handed the Lakers their 19th defeat of the season.
One of the Lakers' biggest problems this season has been turnovers. They rank 28th in the league in this area. On Wednesday night, they conceded as many as 18 turnovers, with both LeBron and Russell Westbrook accounting for five each. LeBron even turned the ball over with 6.7 seconds left in the game as the Lakers looked to tie the game with the score at 99-102.
Commenting on the Lakers' bad habit of not taking care of the ball, LeBron said that the team needs to cut down on "careless turnovers" because:
"Those are the ones that gets us in trouble."
LeBron has been in great form even as Lakers struggle in recent games
LeBron had yet another 30-point game, even as the Lakers suffered a loss on the road 24 hours after they snapped their five-game skid against Houston. LeBron, who had 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists against Memphis, has now had a streak of six consecutive 30-point outings.
LeBron had his third triple-double (32 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) of the season against the Houston Rockets in the Lakers' last game. He also tied his season high of 39 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas Day in this stretch. LeBron also climbed to first in all-time field goals made and points scored in Christmas Day games during the Brooklyn match-up.
Against Houston, LeBron became the youngest player to scale 36,000 career points. He now only trails Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone on the NBA's all-time scoring list. LeBron is also averaging 28.0 ppg, the most any player has ever averaged in their 19th NBA season.
Despite the Lakers going 1-5 during LeBron's hot run, the good news is that the purple-and-gold franchise play their next five games at home. LeBron and the Lakers will now host Portland, Minnesota, Sacramento, Atlanta and Memphis at Crypto.com Arena between December 31 and January 9 in the new year. The Lakers have a 10-10 record playing at home.
Guess the Lakers players!
