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The Lakers star knew his monumental run of reaching double digits was threatened. At the decisive instant, though, he wasn't bothered.

The right decision meant distributing the ball – so he did. Consequently, his remarkable run came to an end.

LeBron's astounding streak of 1,297 consecutive regular-season outings scoring at least ten was snapped on Thursday night, when basketball's greatest scorer had only a mere eight points in the Lakers' close win against Toronto. He delivered the decisive pass, setting up teammate Rui Hachimura for a three-pointer to win the game.

“Nothing,” James stated after being questioned regarding the conclusion of his run. “The important thing is we won.”

A Team-First Choice Secures the Win

LeBron had the chance to tried to secure the contest – and extended his record – in the closing seconds, but he chose to dish the ball to Hachimura on the wing. Hachimura made the shot, and James celebrated triumphantly.

You have to play basketball the right way. Always make the smart play,” James remarked. That has always been how I operate. That is the way I was instructed the game. I’ve done that for two decades.”

James is fully cognizant of his point total he's scored at any point,” said the team's head coach the coach. He made the play as he has done throughout his career.”

The Record's End Game

LeBron checked back into the contest for the final time at 5:23 remaining, the result along with the historic run up for grabs. At that stage, he had only six points on 3-of-15 shooting at that juncture.

He scored with 1:46 left to level the contest then missed a shot with 1:01 left which could have pushed him to double digits.

He avoided taking another shot – even though he had a chance. Austin Reaves found him with a few seconds left, but James opted to make the extra pass instead.

“The basketball gods, if you do it the proper way, they will repay you,” Redick added.

The History of an Unparalleled Record

The record commenced back in January 2007. It stood as the longest streak of its kind in NBA history: His Airness, Michael Jordan previously held a streak of 866 straight games with 10+ points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded 787 such games, and The Mailman was fourth on the list with 575.

“He’s such an unselfish player,” said Lakers center a fellow Laker.

“He’s just playing the game of basketball. He could have shot but given the player he is and just who he is off the court, he chose the unselfish play, passed it to Rui and we won the game.”

Reaching double digits had long been an afterthought long before the final period. During James’s streak, he had achieved double figures by the beginning of the final quarter on the vast majority of occasions before this game.

But two of those unusual games below ten points through three quarters had occurred just days before: He had nine points going into the fourth against Dallas last week, followed by six points before the fourth quarter versus the Suns on Monday night.

James managed to keep the streak alive against the Suns. In the following contest, it concluded – but he still rejoiced anyway.

“I always just make the right play. That’s automatic, win, lose or draw,” James affirmed. If you make the smart play, the sports deities are always rewarding me.”