LeBron acknowledges fires have taken mental toll

LOS ANGELES -- Speaking for the first time since the Southern California wildfires forced him and his family to evacuate their home last week, LeBron James acknowledged Wednesday that the fires -- which have burned through 60 square miles and killed at least 25 people -- have taken a mental toll.

"I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades," James said after the Los Angeles Lakers' 117-108 win over the Miami Heat. "Obviously, my heart goes out to all of the families, all across not only the Palisades, but all across L.A. County and all the surrounding areas because of the fire. ... It's been a lot of emotions. Kind of been off. Personally, I've been off.

"I've just been completely off for obvious reasons, but hopefully things are contained or continue to be contained. And hopefully, at some point, we can start to push forward and move forward and put it behind us and rebuild our city, rebuild this beautiful city."

His team has also not looked like the group that was seemingly building momentum just a couple of weeks ago, winning eight out of 11 games and fortifying its roster by trading for a coveted 3-and-D wing in Dorian Finney-Smith.

L.A. had lost three games in a row and was trailing the Heat by 12 at halftime when James checked his phone in the locker room during the break.

A family friend sent him a clip of a young girl sitting courtside in a replica James No. 23 jersey who was overcome with emotion when the Lakers star acknowledged her in the first quarter.

"Thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at halftime, or I wouldn't have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half," James said after the game. "I waved to her, and then I got back to play. So, to have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that type of reaction, I think that's what it's all about. And I've always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to. ... Try to make them proud and want to come see me play or if they're not able to see me play, hopefully some of the things that I do off the floor continue to inspire them."

Perhaps it was the connection James needed to switch back on.

He scored 15 of his 22 points after halftime -- including seven straight in the fourth quarter to stretch L.A.'s lead from two with 3:51 remaining to nine with 1:52 to go -- and the Lakers held on to beat Miami.

"His comfort level closing the basketball game is obviously very high," said Lakers coach JJ Redick -- one of James' friends who lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades.

On Monday, the first game the Lakers played following a six-day layoff because of the fires, L.A. lost 126-102 and was outscored by 33 points in the second half by the San Antonio Spurs. At shootaround in preparation for the Heat game, Redick said, he challenged his entire team to provide better leadership in their own way. L.A. responded with a team effort, with James one of six players to score 14 points or more in the win.

James said the Lakers' performance against Miami, and more like that in the future, is something he wants Los Angeles to be able to draw some positivity from.

"I hope that by us going out on the floor and us playing the way we played tonight -- not the way we played against San Antonio -- but the way we played tonight and hopefully the next few months or whatever it is, years, until the city is back up, that we as a Lakers franchise and the players that are playing for the Lakers give a sense of hope and pride and excitement," James said. "Sports has always given people an opportunity to kind of just like temporarily forget about whatever they may have been going through. And us being such a big part of the L.A. community -- along with a lot of other sports teams, but we know how important the Lakers is to the community -- hopefully we can provide that to a lot of families."

After the final buzzer, James beelined over to the girl sitting courtside before she and her family exited the arena. He took off one of his I Promise wristbands and placed it on the girl's wrist and crouched down on one knee so his 6-foot-9 body would fit in the frame next to her while they posed for a photograph.

"I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget," James said. "I'm happy to be a part of her life now and that small little moment, but such a bigger moment. And hopefully she brags about it in school."