LeBron James botched an alley-oop pass so badly it went in for 3-pointer

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were playing for their season in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night. The Nuggets entered with a commanding 3-0 series lead, one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. The 38-year-old James knew he had to empty the tank to keep the Lakers’ season alive, and the result was one of the best first half performances of his career.

James scored 31 points in the first half of Game 4 on 11-of-13 shooting. The Lakers headed into the break with a 73-58 halftime lead. James was so hot that even the passes he missed ended up going in the basket.

During the first quarter, James was trapped by two Nuggets defenders and tried to fire a pass to teammate Rui Hachimura as he cut to the rim. Hachimura would have had an easy dunk if the pass was on the mark, but instead it missed so badly that it went in for a three-pointer. Watch the video here:

Everyone should have known this was James’ night when this shot went in.

James has been struggling with his three-point shot since the playoffs started. He entered the night shooting 15.8 percent from three in the series vs. Denver, and 24.2 percent from three in the 2023 playoffs.

Is this the bucket that’s going to get him back in a rhythm as a shooter? For now, the Lakers are happy just to get one more vintage LeBron performance if it saves their season.