There was some talk that after a tough loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, LeBron James would sit out the Los Angeles Lakers' Thursday evening road game versus the Portland Trail Blazers. But he was declared available shortly before the opening tip, and he led the Lakers to victory in an intense and fast-paced contest.
It wasn't exactly the cleanest of basketball games — James had an inexcusable 11 turnovers — but he displayed plenty of energy throughout the contest and dropped 40 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, on 14-of-24 shooting from the field.