On January 3rd, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, with the Lakers facing off against the Trail Blazers at home. Davis and Vincent were absent due to injuries, but the good news was that Hayes returned to start the game. James started the game and reached another milestone in his career, playing 1522 regular-season games, tying Nowitzki for fourth place in history.
In the first half of the first quarter, both teams played back and forth, with the score staying close; as the game entered the middle stage, the Trail Blazers adopted a fast-paced strategy, continuously attacking the Lakers' interior, and with decent three-point shooting, they once took an 8-point lead; towards the end of the quarter, after James came on, the Lakers' offense improved and narrowed the gap, ending the first quarter with the Lakers trailing 27-31 by 4 points.
At the beginning of the second quarter, only James and Reeves could score for the Lakers on the offensive end, while the five-small lineup on defense was repeatedly attacked by the Trail Blazers, causing damage, and the Trail Blazers kept the pressure on the Lakers; after Hayes came on, the Lakers had rim protection inside, then Christie became the star, first hitting two consecutive threes to narrow the gap, then following a James assist for a 2+1 to help the Lakers take the lead; immediately after James scored 8 points in a row, Christie hit another corner three to widen the gap, ending the half with the Lakers leading 60-51 by 9 points. In the second quarter, Christie scored 12 points and James 14.
In the first half of the third quarter, it was just Christie and James' two-man show for the Lakers, first Christie scoring 4 points in a row, then James hitting two consecutive threes, followed by James assisting Christie to hit a three, then James hit another three to help the Lakers open up a double-digit lead; after the Trail Blazers narrowed the gap to 7 points, Reeves stepped up to score and assist again to widen the gap, ending the third quarter with the Lakers leading 88-75 by 13 points.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, both teams played chaotically, with the Lakers leading by 15 points before consecutive misses and turnovers, and the Trail Blazers making a series of counterattacks and attacks inside to cut the gap to 8 points; then James' turnaround jumper and Christie's three-pointer widened the gap to 13 points again; immediately after, the Trail Blazers went on an 11-2 run to get within 4 points; in the key moment, it was James and Christie who teamed up again to widen the gap; in the last minute, James hit a three-pointer and a layup to seal the game, ultimately defeating the Trail Blazers 114-106 and returning to sixth place in the West.
Individually, Christie scored 28 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, with 28 points being a new career high; Reeves had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists; Kolo had 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists; Hachimura had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists; Knick had 6 points.
And the top contributor to the victory, James, with 38 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists, once again set records:
- His career regular-season 30+ games reached 562, tying Jordan for first place in history;
- James has scored in double figures in 1252 consecutive games, once again breaking his own record;
- 38 points is James' second-highest single-game score this season;
- In this game, James made 7 out of 10 three-pointers, with 7 three-pointers also being his new single-game high this season;
- James' 38 points is the second-highest single-game score among NBA players over 40 years old, with the first being Jordan's 43 points, meaning James is the second player in history to score 30+ in a single game after turning 40.