Lakers star James achieves milestone with 40,000 points
LeBron James reached 40,000 points Saturday night, still going strong in his 21st NBA season as he tries to put the career scoring record out of reach.
James drove past Michael Porter Jr. and hit a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' home game against the Denver Nuggets for the historic basket.
James received a standing ovation at the next timeout, while coach Darvin Ham gave him a congratulatory pat on the chest. There was an in-arena video presentation, which was preceded and followed by James raising the ball over his head.
James shot an airball on his first attempt of the night but responded by getting out in transition for a layup for his first points and prompting the Nuggets to use their first timeout. He then made a corner 3-pointer before subbing out with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
James checked back in to start the second quarter, attacking the basket 14 seconds into the period to set up the milestone score.
James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark of 38,387 points to become the league's leading scorer on Feb. 7, 2023, against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He reached 39,000 points on Nov. 21 against the Utah Jazz.
Ham was a young fan when Abdul-Jabbar was finishing out his career and assumed the record would never be challenged, let alone surpassed in the way James has.
“But here we are,” Ham said before the game. “It's a testament to Bron, just the time and resources he spends on himself, making sure not only he is healthy but he's healthy at a high level.”
James, 39, is the only NBA player with at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists. HEAT 126, JAZZ 120 >> Jimmy Butler scored 18 of his season-high 37 points in the third quarter, Bam Adebayo finished with 23 and Miami held off visiting Utah for its 10th victory in 13 games.
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Keyonte George scored 31 points and Lauri Markkanen had 25 for the Jazz.
It's the seventh consecutive time the Heat beat Utah in Miami — all of those wins coming by single digits.
NETS 114, HAWKS 102 >> Mikal Bridges scored 38 points and host Brooklyn rolled past Atlanta for the second straight game.
Cam Johnson chipped in 23 points for the Nets, who improved to 3-3 under interim coach Kevin Ollie and pulled within two games of the Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Nic Claxton had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Brooklyn, which won for the third time in its past four games. That included a 124-97 victory over the Hawks on Thursday in the opener of the two-game series.
Dejounte Murray had 20 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for the Hawks.