Elder statesman LeBron James not thinking about his age as Los Angeles Lakers suffer defeat against the Atlanta Hawks
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — He may have recently turned 39, but NBA superstar LeBron James says he’s not too concerned about how his age might be affecting him in the twilight of his career.
Speaking to CNN Sport’s Andy Scholes after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 138-122 loss against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, the 20-time All-Star said that he “[doesn’t] really get involved” in thinking about his age.
“When I’m healthy enough to go out there and play, I just try to perform at a high level, help my teammates, do great things on the floor, try to be productive,” James added.
“And win, lose or draw, to be satisfied with the way I approach the game. That’s all I can ask for myself.”
James had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Hawks at State Farm Arena and his 36 minutes were more than any other player in the game.
The Lakers have struggled for consistency throughout the season and on Tuesday were comprehensively beaten by a team which had won just once in the past five outings.
Playing without Anthony Davis due to injury, LA struggled on the defensive end of the floor and trailed for much of the game after allowing the Hawks to rack up 36 points in both the first and third quarters.
Trae Young led the way for Atlanta with 26 points and 13 assists, while Dejounte Murray ended the night with 24 points, nine assists and four rebounds.
“We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA, and then on any given night, we can get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA,” James told reporters. “That’s our record.”
The Lakers came into Tuesday’s game off the back of a 16-point loss against the Houston Rockets and are now 24-25 on the season, sitting in ninth in the West. They have another road game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
“We’ve got to figure out how to give more resistance defensively,” head coach Darvin Ham told reporters. “Those first and third quarters … Looking at it with clear eyes on how we can turn this thing around and not make those same mistakes that eventually hurt us, those self-inflicted wounds.”
The Hawks, meanwhile, improved to 20-27 and 10th in the East midway through a run of six home games and next play the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
The-CNN-Wire
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