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LeBron James was aware his monumental streak of reaching double digits was at risk. In that crucial moment, however, it was not his focus.

The correct basketball play involved passing the ball – and he executed. Following that play, the legendary streak finished.

James's staggering run of 1,297 consecutive regular-season double-digit scoring performances was snapped on Thursday night, when the NBA's all-time scoring leader finished with eight points during the Lakers' 123-120 triumph versus Toronto. He provided the game-winning assist, finding teammate Rui Hachimura to knock down a triple at the buzzer.

“Zero,” James replied after being questioned regarding the conclusion of his run. “The important thing is we won.”

An Unselfish Play Secures the Game

James could have sought to clinch the contest – while also extending his record – on the final possession, but he chose to pass to Hachimura on the wing. Hachimura made the shot, with LeBron celebrated with his hands in the air.

You have to play the game the proper way. Always make the right play,” James noted. That is my M.O.. It's how I learned the game. I’ve done that my whole career.”

James is fully cognizant exactly how many points he's scored at all times,” commented the team's head coach the coach. “He did it as he has done so many times.”

The Streak's Final Moments

James re-entered the game for the final time with under five and a half minutes to go, the result and his personal record up for grabs. At that stage, he had six points on a 3-for-15 performance by that point.

He got a bucket at 1:46 left to level the contest and missed a mid-range jumper at one minute to go that would have pushed him to ten points.

He passed up one more attempt – though the opportunity was there. A teammate found him as time wound down, but James opted to dish it off instead.

The basketball deities, when you play it the proper way, they tend to repay you,” the coach concluded.

Reflecting on an Unparalleled Run

This incredible run began on Jan. 6, 2007. It was easily the longest double-digit streak in NBA history: Michael Jordan had 866 straight games with 10+ points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded 787 such games, and Karl Malone had the fourth-longest run at 575.

LeBron is such a team-oriented player,” said teammate Jake LaRavia.

“He’s just playing the game of basketball. He had the opportunity but due to the player he is and his character as a person, he chose the unselfish play, dished to Hachimura and claimed the victory.”

Getting to ten points had long been a formality well before the final period. Over the course of the record, he had achieved the 10-point mark by the start of the fourth over twelve hundred times coming into the contest.

Yet two of those rare games below ten points through three quarters had occurred in the last week: He recorded nine entering the final quarter against Dallas last week, followed by six going into the fourth against Phoenix earlier in the week.

He succeeded in preserve the record in the Phoenix game. One game later, it was over – yet he was celebrating all the same.

I only ever make the best play. That comes naturally, win, lose or draw,” James affirmed. “You make the smart play, the game gods forever returning the favor.”