KING JAMES HOLDS COURT AT THE GARDEN
LeBron James moved within 89 points of breaking the NBA’s career scoring record and climbed into fourth place on the assists list, finishing with a tripledouble in his return to Madison Square Garden as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 on Tuesday night.
James had 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, with the points giving him 38,299 for his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader with 38,387.
But James’ game has always been about more than scoring, as he proved again Tuesday. He fed Dennis Schroder for a 3-pointer that snapped a 118-all tie with 3:13 remaining, grabbed his 10th rebound later in the extra period and then powered to the basket for a 127-121 lead with 19 seconds to go.
“He’s just doing it all,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “That’s what great players do. That’s what alltime greats do, and he’s right up there at the top of the list with all of them.”
James had earlier moved ahead of Mark Jackson and then Steve Nash into fourth place on the assists list during his first game at Madison Square Garden in three years.
Anthony Davis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had dropped two straight to open their trip. Both James and Davis had sat out their loss Monday in Brooklyn.
Jalen Brunson scored 37 points and Julius Randle had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who were 7 for 34 from 3-point range and dropped their second straight.
Clippers 108, Bulls 103: Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and Norman Powell added 27 to help visiting Los Angeles beat Chicago. Paul George added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who’ve won six of seven.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who dropped the first of a four-game homestand. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and 14 boards.
Bucks 124, Hornets 115:
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 18 rebounds and Milwaukee beat visiting Charlotte to win its fifth straight and avenge one of its most embarrassing losses of the season.
The Bucks withstood a triple-double from Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Charlotte (16-36) entered the night with the fourthworst record in the NBA, but the Hornets won 138-109 at Milwaukee on Jan. 6 to hand the Bucks their second-most lopsided loss of the season.
Heat 100, Cavaliers 97: Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Miami beat host Cleveland.
Caleb Martin scored 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also had 18 points for the Heat. They moved within 11⁄2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
Evan Mobley scored 19 points for Cleveland.
Nuggets 122, Pelicans 113: Jamal Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic got his 16th triple-double of the season and Denver held off visiting New Orleans.
Jokic finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists and Murray made a season-high seven 3-pointers.
CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones each scored 21 points for the Pelicans, who have dropped nine straight.
Monday’s late result
Trail Blazers 129, Hawks 125: Damian Lillard scored 42 points, Anfernee Simons hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 34 seconds left and host Portland held off Atlanta.
Notable
Paolo Banchero is headed to NBA All-Star weekend. The Magic rookie and No. 1 pick in last year’s draft was announced as a participant in this year’s Rising Stars Game, which will be held on Feb. 17 in Salt Lake City, two nights before the All-Star Game.
Banchero, whose 20.7 points a game leads rookies, may still be named an AllStar reserve. Those players will be revealed Thursday.