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James understood his monumental run of putting up 10+ points was threatened. At the decisive instant, though, it didn't concern him.

The right decision was to pass the basketball – and he executed. Following that play, the legendary streak came to an end.

James's staggering run of over 1,200 straight NBA regular season double-digit scoring performances concluded on Thursday night, as the NBA's all-time scoring leader had only eight points in the Lakers' close win against the Toronto Raptors. He delivered the game-winning assist, setting up teammate Rui Hachimura to knock down a triple as time expired.

“Zero,” James said after being questioned regarding the conclusion of his run. “The team got the victory.”

An Unselfish Decision Seals the Win

James could have sought to clinch the contest – and preserved his record – in the closing seconds, yet he opted to pass to Rui in the left corner. Rui connected, with LeBron celebrated with his hands in the air.

“Just playing the game the right way. Make the right play,” James explained. “That’s just been how I operate. That is the way I was taught to play. That's what I've done my whole career.”

He is fully cognizant of his point total he has during a game,” said the team's head coach JJ Redick. He acted as he has done countless times.”

The Record's Final Moments

LeBron checked back into the contest one last time at under five and a half minutes to go, the result along with the historic run on the line. He had only six points on a 3-for-15 performance by that point.

He scored with 1:46 left to knot the score then missed a 14-footer with 1:01 left which could have pushed him to double digits.

He passed up another shot – though the opportunity was there. A teammate passed him the ball with a few seconds left, but James chose to dish it off instead.

The basketball deities, if you approach it the proper way, they tend to bless you,” the coach concluded.

The History of an Unparalleled Record

James's streak commenced on Jan. 6, 2007. It was, by far the most extended such streak in professional basketball: His Airness, Michael Jordan had 866 straight games with 10+ points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 787 such games, and Karl Malone was fourth on the list with 575.

He is such a team-oriented player,” remarked teammate Jake LaRavia.

“He’s just playing hoops. The chance was there but given who he is on the court and his character off the court, he made the team play, passed it to Rui and we won the victory.”

Reaching double digits was usually a guarantee long before the start of fourth quarters. Throughout his run, he had reached ten points by the beginning of the final quarter over twelve hundred times coming into the contest.

But two such games below ten points after three periods had happened recently: He recorded nine points entering the final quarter against Dallas last week, followed by six going into the fourth against Phoenix on Monday night.

He succeeded in keep the streak alive in the Phoenix game. One game later, it was over – and he celebrated anyway.

My focus is to make the correct play. That’s automatic, regardless of outcome,” James said. If you make the smart play, the game gods consistently giving back to me.”