LeBron dazzles in 4th, but stresses Lakers ‘a team’

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James caught fire in the fourth quarter on Saturday, scoring 16 of his game-high 32 points in a three-minute span to help the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-127 win over the Sacramento Kings and a 3-0 start to the season.

James was responsible for 18 points during the Lakers’ 21-0 run to start the fourth, scoring 11 straight then assisting on a Jaxson Hayes dunk before scoring five more.

While it was a vintage performance for the 22-year veteran, James said that fourth-quarter burst isn’t something he feels will be necessary for entire games in order for L.A. to win this season.

“Listen, I could do that at 22, but at almost 40, I don’t need to be doing it for four quarters,” James said after adding 14 rebounds and 10 assists, accounting for the 113th triple-double of his career. “I have the luxury of having a MVP-caliber player next to me [in Anthony Davis]. AR [Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches, as well.

“So, this team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That’s not how it’s constructed and nor should it be. We’re a team, and we all play together.”

Indeed, for as hot as James was to start the fourth, it was Davis who finished it by hitting a 3 and tacking on a free throw in the final minute to give L.A. the edge.

“We encourage him, coaches encourage him, we as his teammates encourage him to shoot that 3 ball, and probably the biggest shot of the night is him making that 3, so it made it easy on me,” James said of Davis.

Davis put up 31 points and registered his third straight 30-point game, tying a franchise record for the most consecutive 30-point games to start the season with Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Kobe Bryant.

James had been relatively quiet through the Lakers’ first two wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns, totaling 37 points.

“Just when you think he’s slowing down, man, he continues to show the world why he’s the greatest,” Davis said of James. “To go on that stretch, he actually looked to the bench and was trying to come out the game. We told him, ‘You’re not coming out.’ He comes out and hits another 3. He never ceases to amaze any of us because we just know what he’s capable of and what he’s able to do.”

While every other Lakers starter did have 16 points or more — supporting James’ claim that he doesn’t need to look to aggressively score from the opening tip to the final buzzer — when he finds a rhythm like that, there’s nothing left for L.A. to do but embrace it.

“What can you say?” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We’ve all been very fortunate to watch his greatness for so long, and the fact that he’s able to keep doing it, it’s just — it’s actually insane.”