'Nothing short of amazing:' LeBron James delivers record-breaking performance against Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James is old, all right, just like Dillon Brooks said.

And at 38, James is aging like a 6-foot-9 bottle of fine wine.

While helping propel the Los Angeles Lakers to a 117-111 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies and a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series, James uncorked a performance for the ages – and aged.

"The King'' had 22 points and 20 rebounds – the first 20-point, 20-rebound game of his career – and became the oldest player to record a 20-20 in the NBA playoffs. The previous record belonged to Wilt Chamberlain, who did it at age 36 in 1973 NBA Finals.

Before a raucous sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena, James also forced overtime with a high-arcing layup over the outstretched arm of Jaren Jackson Jr., the Grizzlies’ 6-foot-10 center and the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.

And in the fourth quarter, James did blue-collar work, taking two charges against Ja Morant, the Grizzlies’ high-flying point guard, to help stabilize the Lakers.

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"He’s nothing short of amazing, man," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

The timing should be no surprise.

"These are the moments that I love," James said after the game. "I love the postseason."

LeBron James' key 'Tier' layups

James’ layup over Memphis’ center with 0.8 seconds left in regulation did more than send the game into overtime. It also led to James sharing his systematic approach to layups.

"I work on different layup packages,"’ he said. "Tier 1 is a layup just right underneath the rim where you lay it off the glass. Tier 2 is like the middle of the glass or the middle of the square. And then Tier 3 is over the top of the square."

On Monday night, a Tier 3 layup cleared the fingertips of Jaren Jackson Tier 3.

"Shout out to Chris Johnson (a basketball trainer who has worked with James and many other NBA players.)," James said. "We work on those depending on the shot blocker, so I’ve had moments where I’ve been able to scoop those high layups."

But the layup that set off a maniacal scream from James came with the Lakers clinging to a 111-108 lead and 29.5 seconds left to play in overtime. He found himself matched up on the left wing against Brooks, the Grizzlies forward who called James "old" after Game 2 and drew a flagrant foul 2 when he backhanded James in the groin during Game 3.

As if karma had arrived, James blew past Brooks and, as he closed in on the basket, sent a Tier 2 floater over Xavier Tillman Sr., the Grizzlies’ 6-8 forward.

The ball dropped through the hoop. James screamed. The crowd roared.

Tier 2 delirium.

'He's not perfect'

Late in the game, James signaled for a timeout rather than wait on Ham to do it.

At the time, James later told reporters with a smile, he was exhausted and needed a breather. Turned out Ham signaled for a timeout at the same time – and that coach and player understand the situation.

At 38, James is a physical marvel, a sculpted, 6-foot-9, 250 pounds. But he’s still 38.

"He’s not perfect,’’ said Ham, the first-year Lakers coach. "You know, sometimes during breakdowns or at the end of the day, he’s got to quickly recalibrate and not make the same mistake twice. Some of it’s fatigue.

"But he’s nothing short of amazing, man. It doesn’t surprise me, watching him everyday and see how he prepares. Then you know what he’s putting himself in the best position to be not just available to play or to play well in stretches but to be elite and at the top of the list in terms of how he performances for his team."

LeBron James grabs 20 rebounds

The two charges James took against Morant epitomized the sacrifice Ham expects his players to make.

"He has to be at the top of that list," Ham said. "That’s what those charges represent. Him doing whatever it takes to put us in a position to succeed."

Before the game, Ham said, one of the things he stressed was defensive rebounding. So James grabbed 20 rebounds for the first time in his career, and 15 of them were defensive rebounds.

The Lakers would not have won without D’Angelo Russell hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves led the team in scoring with 23 points. Others made important contributions. But no one was sweating more profusely, breathing more deeply and exerting any harder than the 38-year-old Laker wearing No. 6.

As Jarred Vanderbilt told The Spectrum of James after the game, "He gave us everything he had."

And where did James find the energy as he, like the game, grew older?

"You just dig deep and understand that you’ll be able to sleep at some point and, you know, just right not now,'' he said.

Royalty in the house

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were spotted and shown on the scoreboard video. It created a stir, but nothing like the roar that followed the Tier-3 layup over Jackson and the Tier-2 layup over Tillman.

The night belonged to The King.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James delivers record-breaking performance; Lakes top Grizzlies