LeBron James reaches new milestone with fiery quarter vs. Thunder

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. For LeBron James, he and the Lakers are the obvious underdogs. But James didn’t let that stop him from getting off to a strong start with something to prove.

In the first quarter, James scored 12 points, making it the 75th time he scored 10+ points in a playoff game, the most in the play-by-play era, per ESPN Insights. Ten of those twelve points came in the first five minutes of the game.

Overall, the Lakers and Thunder each came out of the gates with reckless abandon. At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led 31-26.

With the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injury, James has stepped up during this postseason. James, 41, averaged 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists during the six-game first-round series against the Houston Rockets. In Game 6, James surpassed the 1,5oo playoff point mark with 28 points in the decisive 98-78 win against the Rockets.

He passed Karl Malone and John Stockton for the most playoff appearances with 19. James increased his playoff records in points scored (8,289) and minutes played (12,062). In total, he has played in 292 playoff games. James continues to maintain a strong level of longevity not seen in the NBA in recent memory.

The Lakers are looking to have a shot at winning their first NBA championship since 2020. Meanwhile, the Thunder are looking to be the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

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