The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Miami Heat 117-108. It was a strong performance, one that was much needed. Speaking after the game, LeBron James claimed that it was his scoring exploits in the fourth quarter that the team needed in order to win the game.
Reporter: “LeBron, you had to find a way to turn your attention to the game, which you certainly did in the fourth quarter, scoring seven straight points, and finding Rui for cuts every other second. What did you do in the fourth to get this thing done?”
LeBron James: “We’ve been in a lot of close games this year, but more importantly, some of these games, we have been letting slip away. I had an opportunity to kind of, put my footprint in the game.”
“I was playing an overall game throughout the first three quarters, but I felt like my scoring was needed in the fourth quarter to overcome such a tough Miami team. They do a good job of making you stagnant with their zone, making you second-guess yourself at times, but you just gotta be aggressive, and I think we all did that in the fourth quarter.”
LeBron James had a decent performance on the night, putting up 22 points (9-15 FG), five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. In the fourth quarter, James had nine points and two assists. He led the game in fourth-quarter scoring from players on both teams.
James also talked about some other subjects in the post-game interview, which you can check out below:
Reporter: “LeBron, we just saw you go share a special moment with a little girl… That’s gotta be an important moment for you to make somebody’s night like this.”
LeBron James: “Absolutely, I saw her at half time, family friends sent a clip. I was like ‘Man, I didn’t know you had this type of impact on people’. I made sure I acknowledged her in the second half. When you got people like that cheering you on, that brings a little more excitement. She’s a wonderful little girl… It was special and very humbling for me to have that impact on people.”
Reporter: “A tough week in Los Angeles, trying to find ways to bring people together like that.”
LeBron James: “Absolutely, I haven’t spoken since the tragedies have affected the Palisades and the greater areas of Los Angeles and areas around. My condolences, heartfelt prayers, and sincerity go to every family that either lost loved ones or lost properties, lost anything that had so much meaning to them.”
“It has been a hell of a week for us here in L.A., but we gotta stick together… We apologize for the other night, we didn’t give them what we had against San Antonio. The Rams did their job, and hopefully, we were able to bring a little excitement to the households wherever you are, to the families that have been affected by this tragedy, our hearts are with them.”
James also spoke further about the adorable instance with the little girl sitting courtside in his locker room. He echoed his previous sentiments and shared what kind of impact seeing the support from a passionate fan like that has on him.
“Family friends sent me the clip at half-time. Thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at half-time, or I wouldn’t have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half, and then I got back to play. To have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that kind of reaction, that’s what it is all about.”
“I’ve always tried to be a role model, someone that kids can look up to, men, women, whatever the case may be. I try to make them proud and want to come see me play, and if they’re not able to see me play, hopefully, some of the things I do off the court can inspire them. But that was a super dope moment.”
“I have a little girl of myself back home. I made sure that I went over and chopped it up with her, gave her one of my ‘I Promise’ bands, took a picture with her, and I believe that was her sister as well… Took a picture with them, and hopefully, it is something she never forgets.”
“I’m happy to be a part of her life now with such a small little moment, but a bigger moment [for her]. Hopefully, she brags about it in school! She got the upper hand on some of her classmates who might have said some bad things about her in the past. They can’t say nothing about it now.”
The clip of LeBron James interacting with the young girl sitting courtside went viral. She saw LeBron walk near her and immediately burst into tears upon seeing James up close and personal.
LeBron's aura makes young fan cry 😭 pic.twitter.com/xgWFvd7EcJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 16, 2025
After the game, James went to interact with the young girl and even took a picture with her and her guardians. On top of that, he gave her one of the ‘I Promise’ bands that he was wearing. It was great to see James go out of his way to make the young fan’s day.
Overall, it was a brilliant evening for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans. Not only did they get to witness a very wholesome moment between James and a young fan, but they also got to see the King bring home a much-needed victory against the Heat, especially after the traumatic week the city of Los Angeles has gone through due to the wildfires.
The hope right now is that the Lakers can translate this win from tonight into some momentum heading into their next game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at 10:30 PM EST. LeBron and the Lakers could do the Nets a favor in their tank and hand them a massive loss.
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