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LeBron James was aware his monumental run of reaching double digits was at risk. At the decisive instant, however, it was not his focus.

The smart move involved passing the basketball – so he did. Following that play, the legendary streak was over.

James's astounding streak of over 1,200 straight regular-season outings scoring at least ten concluded on Thursday night, when the NBA's all-time scoring leader was limited to eight points during the Lakers' 123-120 win against Toronto. He provided the clutch helper, feeding teammate Rui Hachimura to hit a three-pointer to win the game.

“None,” James replied when asked on the record concluding. “The team got the victory.”

An Unselfish Choice Delivers the Game

James could have sought to clinch the contest – while also extending the streak – with the last shot, instead, he decided to make the extra pass to his teammate on the wing. Rui connected, prompting James celebrated immediately.

It's about playing basketball the right way. Make the right play,” James noted. That has always been my philosophy. That is the way I learned the game. I’ve done that my whole career.”

James is acutely aware of his point total he has at any point,” stated Lakers coach JJ Redick. He acted just as he has countless times.”

The Run's Final Moments

He returned to the game for the final time at 5:23 remaining, the win and his personal record up for grabs. He had a mere six points on 3-of-15 shooting by that point.

He scored with under two minutes remaining to tie the game and missed a 14-footer at 1:01 left that might have pushed him into double figures.

He avoided taking a subsequent shot – but could have. A teammate passed him the ball in the waning seconds, yet LeBron decided to make the pass instead.

The spirits of the game, when you play it correctly, they often bless you,” the coach concluded.

Reflecting on an Unparalleled Streak

The record started on Jan. 6, 2007. It was easily the longest double-digit streak in professional basketball: His Airness, Michael Jordan previously held a streak of 866 straight games with 10+ points, Kareem had 787 such games, and The Mailman was fourth on the list with 575.

LeBron is such a pass-first superstar,” said teammate a fellow Laker.

He simply plays the sport. He had the opportunity but due to who he is on the court and his personality as a person, he executed the team play, passed it to Rui and we won the game.”

Getting to ten points had typically been a guarantee well before the start of fourth quarters. Over the course of the record, he had reached the 10-point mark by the beginning of the final quarter 1,266 times before this game.

Yet two of those rare games below ten points through three quarters had happened in the last week: He had nine points entering the final quarter versus the Mavericks last week, then had six points before the fourth quarter versus the Suns on Monday night.

James managed to keep the streak alive in the Phoenix game. The very next outing, it concluded – yet he was celebrating regardless.

My focus is to make the right play. That is instinctive, regardless of outcome,” James affirmed. “You make the unselfish play, the basketball gods consistently returning the favor.”