LeBron James seemingly makes history every time he steps on the court these days and Game 2 against the Houston Rockets was no different. In the midst of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 117-109 victory to even their second-round series, James surpassed former teammate Ray Allen for second in 3-pointers made in the playoffs.
James’ lone 3-pointer in Game 2 gave him 386 for his playoff career and now he trails only Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. With 470 made 3-pointers in the playoffs, Curry has a major lead on LeBron and everyone else on the list.
And with Curry having many more years left in his career than James does, it is unlikely that he will be overtaken by the Lakers’ All-Star. In fact, James is more likely to drop a spot or two before his career is over.
Curry’s ‘Splash Brother’ teammate Klay Thompson sits fourth on the list at 374 made threes while a couple other current superstars in Kevin Durant and James Harden are lurking a little further down the list as well.
The Lakers are also represented on the list by JR Smith, who is tied with the the late legend Kobe Bryant at ninth on with 292 made 3-pointers in the playoffs. Fan-favorite role player Derek Fisher just behind them with 285.
Speaking of Fisher, he now has some company at the top of another list. The Lakers’ win in Game 2 was LeBron’s 161st of his playoff career, moving him into a tie with Fisher atop the all-time playoff wins list.
James was able to accomplish this in fewer games than Fisher, however, as he has played in only 246 playoff games compared to Fisher’s 259 — which is also a record.
The all-time playoff wins list is another that is full of former Lakers. Robert Horry sits fourth on the list while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is right behind him in fifth. And a little further down sits Kobe at ninth and Shaquille O’Neal is 10th.
LeBron confident Lakers adjusted to Rockets’ speed
Following the Lakers’ loss in Game 1 the main thing James spoke about was adjusting to the speed of the Rockets. He compared it to the St. Louis Rams ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ era in the NFL, and acknowledged the Rockets gave the Lakers fits in the first contest. But Game 2 was a different story.
Head coach Frank Vogel made some adjustments and LeBron did the same on the court as the Lakers evened the series. “Like I said after Game 1, sometimes you need one game to be able to understand the speed that they play with,” James said.
“I think we adjusted from Game 1 to Game 2. An extremely fast team. Everyone keeps talking about the small ball, but their speed and activity offensively and defensively, it’s something that can catch you off guard.
“We got a feel for that and we understand how much scrambling, how much running, how much pace, how physical the game is going to be versus this team. They’re very good. Extremely good. No matter who’s on the floor.”
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