LeBron Was Extremely LeBron Tonight

Here is a staggering stat that only makes sense when you know it’s about LeBron James: Heading into tonight, King James had fallen one rebound or one assist shy of a triple-double . (He has 57 legit triple-doubles throughout his career as well.) He was just short of that mark again tonight against the Kings, but LeBron gave his team everything they needed, putting up his 35th almost triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in a 101-95 comeback win.

Like most great LeBron performances, this was a masterpiece from start to finish, with as many breathtaking plays in the first quarter as the fourth. He added to his highlight reel of fancy passes a few times:

He got a key block on Buddy Hield with the Cavs down two in crunch time:

And he shot 5-for-8 from three, with no bucket more important than an emphatic shot clock-beating step-back three to put Cleveland up five with 15 seconds remaining.

So maybe he falls just short of being Russell Westbrook on the stat sheet, but LeBron is clearly gunning to reclaim his MVP crown. This win is the 13th straight for the Cavs after a rocky start to the season, and with a current healthy roster made up almost entirely of aging vets and role players, all the credit goes to the King.