The Nets couldn’t make a shot early.
LeBron James couldn’t miss one late.
And when it was done, the Nets suffered a 116-104 loss to the Lakers before a sellout crowd of 18,162 at Barclays Center. King James had arguably the greatest shooting night of his great career, and crowned himself when it was done.
What started with the Nets’ incompetence on offense — missing their first 11 shots to fall behind 17-0 — ended with James’ incomparable brilliance on that end.
The Lakers’ icon poured in 17 of his game-high 40 points in the fourth quarter, and made a career high-tying 9 of 10 from behind the arc.
“No defense can stop that. We tried to hit him a couple of times, but when you’re falling out of bounds in the first row, making it all net, he just got one of those ‘flow’ moments. That’s what greatness is,” said Kevin Ollie. “This is New York, too, so we’ve got to predict that he’s gonna try to show out.”
James showed out, hitting his final 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Nic Claxton.
He checked out to a loud ovation from the sellout crowd — including at least one in a goat costume to honor him — with 2:57 left and his Lakers cruising 114-98.
And on his way to the bench, James crowned himself king.
“Yeah, he had a career high, I think nine 3s. He’s like 40 years old, so yeah, it’s impressive. He’s one of the pioneers of the game,” Claxton said.
After scoring 40 against OKC on Dec. 23, James joined Michael Jordan as the only player in history with multiple 40-point outings after turning 39.
against the Nets on Sunday. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
James outdueled Cam Thomas, who had team-highs of 30 points and six assists and was just a year old when the Lakers’ star was drafted.
He reminded everybody that the league’s grand old man is still more grand than old.
“He went like 9-for-10 from 3; it’s amazing,” Thomas said. “So, there’s not much you can do with that once somebody’s 9-for-10 from 3. So you just got to tip your hat to him and just appreciate it.”
For as long as he keeps playing.
“Not very long, I’m not going to play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure,” James said. “I don’t know when that door will close, but I don’t have much time left.”
But he has enough.
The Nets (29-46) saw James — and their own slow start — end their three-game win streak, and shave their tragic number to just three.
Brooklyn fell behind 17-0 on a Austin Reaves layup.
By the time Claxton finally got them on the board with a layup, there was just 5:39 left in the first quarter.
“They just came out and asserted their will from the jump,” Claxton admitted.
The Lakers padded their cushion to 31-7 on Gabe Vincent’s short bank shot with 1:49 remaining in the first, and they never recovered.
Mikal Bridges hit a 3 to pull the Nets within 47-35 with 6:26 left in the second quarter.
But they quickly let the deficit swell again.
The Nets trailed 72-46 just 54 seconds into the second half on a layup by D’Angelo Russell (18 points, six assists, six boards).
The Nets did respond with a 17-5 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
After Trendon Watford (15 points, eight boards) beat the buzzer with a layup to make it 90-79, Thomas hit a step back 3 with a hand in his face 18 seconds into the fourth that pulled them within 90-82.
But that’s as close as the Nets would get.
James answered with a 3 of his own, and scored the next nine points by the Lakers (42-33).
He finished 4 of 4 from deep in that final quarter alone, staving off every Net rally.
Brooklyn plays Monday at Indiana, while the Hawks, who sit in the last play-in spot, play at Chicago.
“They threw the first punch. The first few punches honestly. We started out 18-0 and a pretty much uphill battle from there on out,” said Watford. “[James] hit, what, 9 of 10 from 3? … That’s arguably the best player to ever play the game. So yeah, he got hot.”
