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James understood his historic streak of reaching double digits was in danger. When it mattered most, however, it was not his focus.

The smart move meant distributing the ball – so he did. Following that play, his remarkable run finished.

James's astounding streak of 1,297 consecutive NBA regular season outings scoring at least ten ended this past Thursday, as basketball's greatest scorer had only eight total points during the Los Angeles Lakers' 123-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors. He made the clutch helper, finding Rui Hachimura to knock down a three-pointer as time expired.

“Nothing,” James said when asked regarding the conclusion of his run. “We won.”

A Selfless Play Seals the Win

James could have sought to clinch the game – and preserved the streak – in the closing seconds, yet he opted to pass to his teammate stationed in the corner. Hachimura made the shot, with LeBron raised his arms with his hands in the air.

You have to play basketball the right way. Make the smart play,” James remarked. That is my philosophy. That is the way I learned the game. I've played that way for two decades.”

James is very conscious of how many points he has at any point,” stated the team's head coach the coach. He acted just as he has throughout his career.”

The Record's Closing Chapter

James re-entered the floor one last time at just over five minutes left, the outcome and his personal record up for grabs. At that stage, he had only six points from a 3-for-15 performance by that point.

He got a bucket with 1:46 left to tie the game but then missed a shot with 1:01 left which could have pushed him into double figures.

He passed up another shot – though the opportunity was there. A teammate gave James the ball as time wound down, yet LeBron chose to dish it off instead of shooting.

“The basketball gods, when you play it correctly, they will bless you,” the coach concluded.

Reflecting on a Monumental Record

This incredible run started back in January 2007. It was, by far the greatest streak of its kind the league has ever seen: Michael Jordan previously held a streak of 866 consecutive double-digit scoring games, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 787, and Karl Malone recorded at 575.

He is such an unselfish player,” remarked Lakers center Jake LaRavia.

He simply plays the game of basketball. The chance was there but given who he is on the court and his personality off the court, he made the team play, found Rui and we won the victory.”

Getting to ten points had long been an afterthought long before the fourth quarter began. During James’s streak, he had reached the 10-point mark entering the fourth on the vast majority of occasions before this game.

But two of those rare single-digit games after three periods had happened recently: He had nine entering the final quarter against Dallas last week, and then had six going into the fourth versus the Suns on Monday night.

He succeeded in extend the streak against the Suns. In the following contest, it finished – but he still rejoiced anyway.

“I always just make the correct play. That’s automatic, regardless of outcome,” James affirmed. When you make the unselfish play, the game gods forever giving back to me.”