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LeBron James was aware his monumental run of reaching double digits was threatened. At the decisive instant, though, it didn't concern him.

The smart move meant distributing the ball – which is exactly what he did. Following that play, the unprecedented record came to an end.

James's unprecedented streak of over 1,200 straight regular-season games with 10+ points concluded on Thursday night, as the league's career points king had only a mere eight points in the Los Angeles Lakers' close triumph versus the Toronto Raptors. He provided the game-winning assist, setting up Rui Hachimura to knock down a three-point shot at the buzzer.

“Zero,” James said after being questioned on the record concluding. “We won.”

A Selfless Choice Secures the Game

He might have attempted to win the contest – and preserved his record – with the last shot, but he chose to dish the ball to his teammate on the wing. Hachimura made the shot, and James exulted with his hands in the air.

You have to play basketball correctly. Always make the smart play,” James noted. That is my M.O.. That’s how I learned to play. That's what I've done for two decades.”

James is fully cognizant of how many points he has at any point,” stated Lakers coach the coach. He acted as he has done so many times.”

The Streak's Closing Chapter

LeBron checked back into the game for the final time with under five and a half minutes to go, the win along with the historic run both hanging in the balance. He had six points on a 3-for-15 performance then.

He managed a basket with under two minutes remaining to knot the score but then missed a shot with one minute to go which could have pushed him to ten points.

He avoided taking one more attempt – even though he had a chance. Austin Reaves gave James the ball in the waning seconds, yet LeBron chose to dish it off instead of shooting.

The basketball deities, if you approach it correctly, they tend to reward you,” the coach concluded.

A Look Back at a Monumental Run

The record began back in January 2007. It was, by far the greatest such streak in professional basketball: His Airness, Michael Jordan previously held a streak of 866 straight double-digit scoring games, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded 787 such games, and The Mailman had the fourth-longest run of 575 games.

LeBron is such a team-oriented player,” noted Lakers center a fellow Laker.

He simply plays the game of basketball. He could have shot but due to who he is on the court and his character as an individual, he chose the unselfish play, dished to Hachimura and we won the game.”

Reaching double digits had long been a formality early in the fourth quarter began. Throughout his run, he had reached ten points by the start of the fourth on the vast majority of occasions coming into the contest.

But two of those rare single-digit games after three periods took place in the last week: He recorded nine points entering the final quarter versus the Mavericks on 28 November, followed by six before the fourth quarter against Phoenix on Monday night.

He succeeded in extend the streak against the Suns. In the following contest, it finished – and he celebrated all the same.

My focus is to make the best play. That comes naturally, win, lose or draw,” James declared. “You make the unselfish play, the sports deities forever rewarding me.”