LeBron James simply refuses to age normally. His hairline may be receding a bit, and he may be developing a bit of a bald spot on the crown of his head, but on the basketball court, the 41-year-old is playing more like a 31-year-old.
On Tuesday, James had another excellent performance as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets with a 101-94 victory. He tallied 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and he consistently looked to create pace and attack the basket.
On one play in the third quarter, the Rockets' defense broke down, and he saw an open lane. He came barrelling down the paint and threw down a reverse dunk that reminded everyone that he still has plenty left in his tank.
Lebron we are not worthy man pic.twitter.com/7LINDZbaZJ
When asked about that jam afterward, he seemed to be at a loss for words.
“I don’t even know what that was about,” James said. “I got to sit the hell down. I got to sit down somewhere.”
While James is rightfully getting lots of credit for these two improbable wins, the Lakers' defense has been the biggest factor. The team has held the Rockets under 100 points in both contests, and while the Rockets shot a little better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, they made only 40.4% of their field-goal attempts.
After scoring 20 points in the first half, Kevin Durant, who missed Game 1 with a knee contusion, was shut down by the Lakers. They swarmed him and sent a second defender his way when he had the ball, and when he didn't have the ball, they often played solid ball-denial defense. He made just one of five shots in the second half, and overall, he committed nine turnovers.
James and crew will now have an opportunity to send the Rockets to the intensive care unit with another win in Game 3 on Friday. As it stands, they have already accomplished more in this series with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out due to injury than most thought they could before the series began.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James on his reverse dunk in Game 2 versus Rockets