The King's Historic Scoring Run Ends, But Los Angeles Claim Victory Against Toronto.

The Lakers star knew his historic streak of scoring in double figures was threatened. At the decisive instant, however, he wasn't bothered.

The smart move meant distributing the ball – which is exactly what he did. With that selfless act, his remarkable run was over.

LeBron's staggering run of over 1,200 straight NBA regular season outings scoring at least ten was snapped on Thursday night, as the league's career points king finished with eight total points in the Lakers' 123-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors. He made the clutch helper, setting up Rui Hachimura to hit a three-pointer as time expired.

“Nothing,” James stated after being questioned about the streak ending. “The important thing is we won.”

A Selfless Choice Secures Victory

He might have tried to secure the game – while also extending his record – in the closing seconds, yet he opted to make the extra pass to his teammate on the wing. Hachimura made the shot, prompting James raised his arms with his hands in the air.

You have to play basketball the right way. You always make the smart play,” James noted. “That’s just been my philosophy. It's how I was instructed to play. I've played that way throughout my career.”

“LeBron is fully cognizant of his point total he's scored at any point,” commented the team's head coach the coach. He made the play like he’s done countless times.”

The Run's End Game

James re-entered the floor one last time at under five and a half minutes to go, the result and the streak up for grabs. He had six points from a 3-for-15 performance by that point.

He got a bucket with under two minutes remaining to tie the game but then missed a shot at one minute to go that might have pushed him to ten points.

He didn’t take another shot – even though he had a chance. A teammate passed him the ball with a few seconds left, yet LeBron opted to make the pass instead.

“The basketball gods, if you do it the right way, they tend to bless you,” the coach concluded.

A Look Back at a Staggering Record

James's streak started on Jan. 6, 2007. It was easily the longest streak of its kind in NBA history: Michael Jordan previously held a streak of 866 consecutive double-digit scoring games, Kareem recorded 787 such games, and Karl Malone had the fourth-longest run at 575.

“He’s such a team-oriented player,” remarked teammate a fellow Laker.

“He’s just playing the sport. He had the opportunity but due to who he is on the court and just who he is as a person, he executed the pass, dished to Hachimura and claimed the victory.”

Getting to ten points had typically been a formality long before the final period. During James’s streak, he had reached double figures entering the fourth over twelve hundred times before this game.

However, two such single-digit games through three quarters had happened just days before: He had nine entering the final quarter versus the Mavericks last week, and then had six points before the fourth quarter against Phoenix on Monday night.

James managed to extend the streak against the Suns. The very next outing, it finished – yet he was celebrating regardless.

My focus is to make the correct play. That’s automatic, regardless of outcome,” James declared. “You make the right play, the basketball gods consistently returning the favor.”