LeBron James' 11-year-old daughter Zhuri has a fun shootaround with father before game with Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Zhuri James stood with her back to the basket at the free-throw line and heaved an over-the-head shot that banked in after several previous attempts.

A little coaching and love from her superstar dad did the trick. LeBron James' 11-year-old daughter held a shooting session of her own at Chase Center on Saturday night after he concluded his own warmup routine ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers' 129-101 win against the Golden State Warriors.

“I don't know," she said of what the trick was to finally make the backward free throw, "I tried to make sure I was in front of the basket.”

She also dribbled on the baseline as he dribbled and James caught a glimpse and gave her a smile, then Zhuri came out on the court for some shots from different spots around the key.

Zhuri said she had fun with opportunity, not something she gets to do at road games very often. At Lakers home games, she does it “sometimes but not a lot.”

And before the 41-year-old James headed into the locker room to finish getting ready to face the Warriors, who were without injured rival Stephen Curry for a 10th straight game, Zhuri threw him an alley-oop and he slammed it home. They shared a sweet handshake and he told her “love you” before going inside.

Then he found his rhythm immediately come tipoff, making 7 of 10 shots and all four of his 3-point tries in the first half to go with four assists and four rebounds as the Lakers led 65-47 at the break. James finished with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) watches as he makes a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks to fans during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Will Richard (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dunks the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James drives between Phoenix Suns forward Rasheer Fleming (20) and forward Oso Ighodaro during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

NEW YORK (AP) — Zuby Ejiofor had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, and No. 15 St. John's bounced back from an embarrassing loss by blitzing Villanova 89-57 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Ian Jackson added 19 points and a career-high five steals off the bench for the Red Storm (23-6, 16-2 Big East), who raced to a 30-point lead in the first half and remained a half-game behind No. 6 UConn atop the conference standings.

Villanova set a season low for points in its most-lopsided defeat since a 93-56 blowout in February 1997 at No. 3 Kentucky, coached then by current St. John's coach Rick Pitino.

Oziyah Sellers scored 14 in the Johnnies' largest victory over Villanova, their most frequent opponent. St. John's leads 68-67 in a series that dates to the 1909-1910 season.

Ejiofor, who also blocked three shots, delivered the fourth known triple-double in school history and second in the past 26 years, after Kadary Richmond had one in the regular-season finale last year at Marquette.

On the sideline, the 73-year-old Pitino again channeled Colonel Sanders in his all-white suit and shoes as St. John's encouraged fans to wear white for its annual “White Out” game.

St. John's was coming off a 72-40 loss Wednesday night at rival UConn, where the Red Storm shot 20% and missed their last 24 field-goal attempts over the final 17:27 in by far their largest defeat in three seasons under Pitino.

That ended a 13-game winning streak — the longest for the program in 41 years.

Duke Brennan scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for the Wildcats (22-7, 13-5), who had won seven of eight. They will be the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament.

Villanova lost starting forward Matt Hodge to a right leg injury early in the second half. After the game, coach Kevin Willard said he had no update yet.

Villanova visits DePaul on Wednesday night looking to sweep the regular-season series.

St. John’s hosts Georgetown on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in its final home game of the regular season, after winning their first matchup 95-83 on New Year's Eve.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Villanova guard Acaden Lewis, left, defends St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Villanova guard Tyler Perkins, left, and St. John's guard Oziyah Sellers dive for a loose ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)