King James rules
LeBron passes Chamberlain on all-time scoring rankings as Lakers sink Blazers
LOS ANGELES: LeBron James poured on 44 points to leapfrog Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA’s all-time scoring rankings as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 126-117.
James’ highest points haul since joining the Lakers saw him vault over Chamberlain into fifth place on the scoring rankings, leaving him with 31,425 points from his career.
Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time points leader with 38,387 points, followed by Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643) with Michael Jordan one place ahead of James at 32,292.
James’ standout night at the Staples Centre saw him come within a whisker of a triple double, with the Lakers star finishing with 10 rebounds and nine assists in addition to his 44 points.
The 33-year-old made a point of snaffling the game ball after the buzzer sounded on what was a fourth straight victory for the Lakers, who improved to 8-6 to move up to seventh in the Western Conference standings.
Nikola Vucevic scored 30 points as the Orlando Magic staged a fourth quarter comeback to hand Jimmy Butler a defeat on his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Vucevic drained two free throws with five seconds remaining to seal a wild victory which saw Orlando overturn a 16-point deficit in the final quarter to post a 111-106 win.
Orlando improved to 7-8 with the victory while the Sixers saw their record slip to 9-7.
“Not the outcome that we wanted to have,” Butler said afterwards.
“But we got a lot more of these things. I think we will all be better, myself included.”
Meanwhile in Milwaukee Marc Gasol scored 29 points and Mike Conley 26 as the Memphis Grizzlies upset the Bucks 116-113.