Luka Doncic energises LeBron James as NBA homestretch begins

WASHINGTON – LeBron James is energised to play alongside new Los Angeles Lakers teammate Luka Doncic while in Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hopes a National Basketball Association (NBA) title will secure his place among league legends as the regular-season home stretch begins.

The NBA returns from the All-Star break on Feb 19 (Feb 20, Singapore time) when the Lakers, led by James and Doncic, entertain the Charlotte Hornets in a game postponed from January by the California wildfires.

Los Angeles, fifth in the Western Conference at 32-20, made a deal with Dallas on Feb 2, trading forward Anthony Davis and others to obtain Slovenian guard Doncic, uniting the playmaker with 40-year-old legend James in hopes of making the Lakers title contenders.

“Just the excitement of being able to add a calibre player like that, a generational talent like that to our franchise, it’s something that has given me energy,” James said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. We only had two games so far and I believe he has been on a minutes restriction since he came back from the calf (injury).

“As he continues to get in form, I think we could be really good going down the stretch. But we’ll see what happens.”

Doncic’s two games for the Lakers so far were both against the Utah Jazz. He scored 14 points in a home victory over the Jazz on Feb 10 and 16 points in a road loss on Feb 12.

Meanwhile, James missed the NBA All-Star Game while resting a foot and ankle injury ahead of facing Charlotte and visiting Portland on Feb 20.

“With 30 games left and us trying to make a play-off push in the wild, wild west, I feel like it’s important for me to take care of myself and