LeBron James, in the Lakers’ white uniform, stood at the scorer’s table, filled his hands with chalk and tossed it into the evening air — the same as always.
Yet Saturday, even if it was like the previous 11 meetings with the Denver Nuggets, was always going to be different.
Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean the Lakers might make a coaching change.
Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean the Lakers were going to have to reimagine their roster.
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Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean James might’ve thrown that chalk into the air for the last time as a Laker.