If you watched LeBron James play in January last year, and then compared it to what you saw in the 2018 playoffs, you understand what he meant when he hinted that he was about to jump a level coming out of the All-Star break.
In short, his playoff mode was “activated,” James said after Wednesday’s practice, before he led L.A. to an important, come-from-19-points-down-in-the-third-quarter victory over Houston.
On Thursday night at Staples Center, the 15-time All-Star scored 29 points with 11 boards and six assists in the 111-106 win that got L.A. back to .500 and 2.