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LOS ANGELES — After becoming the oldest player in league history to record a 30-point triple-double in the Los Angeles Lakers 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, LeBron James said the key to his eye-popping performance was an abundance of shuteye.
After a whirlwind three days in which James played a road back-to-back in Memphis and Oklahoma City and then flew to Phoenix on Saturday to see his son, Bronny, lead his high school team to a win, James made sure to recharge ahead of the Magic game with 12 hours of sleep.
“I slept last night from 12 [a.m.] to 8 [a.m], I got up, ate breakfast and went back to sleep from 8:30 [a.m.] to 12:30 [p.m.],” James said after pacing the Lakers with 30 points on 12-for-20 shooting, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in 37 minutes against Orlando.
At 36 years and 346 days old, James supplanted Lakers great Kobe Bryant as the oldest player ever to drop a 30-point triple-double, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. Bryant was 36 years and 99 days old when he had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over Toronto in November 2014 during his second-to-last season in the NBA.
The Lakers have won three of their past four games to improve to 15-13, with James topping 30 points in all of those wins.
James was asked how sustainable his recent burst can be.
“Who me? How do I continue how I’m playing? Been doing it for 19 years,” he said. “Just do what I’ve been doing. I feel like I’m getting better and better each and every day. I’m getting healthier and healthier.”
James, who missed 10 of the Lakers’ first 16 games because of ankle and abdomen injuries, has improved his play as the season’s gone on. In James’ first eight games he averaged 22.8 points on 49% with 5.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists. In his past eight, including the Orlando win, he has averaged 29.8 points on 52%, 7.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists.
After a win over the Boston Celtics last weekend, James dismissed any talk about his workload being too much…
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Source : espn
