The Riverside Press-Enterprise
James hits unprecedented 40,000 points
Lebron James reached 40,000 points, but Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 10 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets made a late push to beat the Lakers 124-114 late Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 3:49 remaining to put Denver back in front, and the Nuggets closed on a 19-6 run for their sixth straight win. James had 26 points and nine assists while checking off his latest milestone, but the Lakers couldn’t get their third straight win. Rui Hachimura had 23 points, and Anthony Davis added 17 points and 11 rebounds as all five Lakers starters had at least 17 points.
James spun around Porter and drove the lane to hit a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter to reach 40,000 points as he tries to put the career scoring record out of reach.
“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league, just knowing the history, the greats that’s come through the league and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight, it was great to compete,” James said. “But for me, the main thing, as always, is to win, and I hated that it had to happen in a defeat.”
James received a standing ovation at the next timeout, while coach Darvin Ham gave him a congratulatory pat on the chest as he came to the sideline. There was an in-arena video presentation, which was preceded and followed by James raising the ball over his head to the delight of fans, many of whom were wearing his Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or St. Vincent–st. Mary High School jerseys.
“Man, you look at a lot of great players that have played this game, and no one was even close to 40,” Davis said. “Obviously, it’s a great moment, obviously it would be better if we get the win.”
GOLF PGA Tour event to finish today
Austin Eckroat left PGA National with a share of the lead Saturday. He left with the outright lead Sunday. He’ll have to come back today to finish the job.
A Monday finish awaits at PGA Nationa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., after the final round of the opening event on the PGA Tour’s
Florida Swing was interrupted by thunderstorms that brought nearly 2 inches of rain in a hurry Sunday afternoon and forced everyone off the course for 31/2 hours.
Eckroat was the leader at 15 under through seven holes, one shot ahead of Erik van Rooyen — who roared up the leaderboard by opening his round with six consecutive birdies on his way to an 8-under
63. He finished at 14-under 270, and now waits to see what’ll happen.
• Joaquin Niemann won his second LIV Golf title in three starts, closing with a 4-under 66 at LIV Golf Jeddah for a four-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
• Jordan Gumberg, an American ranked No. 669, was a surprise winner of the SDC Championship on the European tour when he beat Robin Williams in a playoff. The final round went to a playoff only after Williams made double-bogey at the 17th hole to move to 12 under with Gumberg.
• Australian Hannah Green made a 30-foot birdie at the final hole to clinch a one-stroke victory over Celine Boutier at the LPGA Tour’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Green made six birdies, three of which came in the final three holes, against one bogey in a final round 67 for a 13-under-par 275 at Sentosa Golf Club.
HOCKEY Danault hat trick lifts Kings
Phillip Danault had a hat trick, Kevin Fiala had a goal and two assists, and the Kings defeated the
New Jersey Devils 5-1 at Crypto.com Arena.
Alex Laferriere also scored, Cam Talbot made 30 saves, and the Kings have won eight of 12 under interim coach Jim Hiller.
Nico Daws was replaced in the second period after giving up four goals on 13 shots for the Devils, who have lost five of seven.
SOCCER Paintsil, Joveljic lead Galaxy
Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic each had a goal and an assist to lead the Galaxy to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
Paintsil struck in the 18th minute when he fired a left-footed shot past diving goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto. Joveljic scored in the 43rd when he buried a right-footed shot from just outside the 6-yard box on an assist from Paintsil following a fastbreak. Riqui Puig scored in the 48th. Joveljic had the assist. John Mccarthy had two saves for the Galaxy (1-0-1).
• Andrés Gómez had two goals in the first half and added an assist to give Real Salt Lake a 3-0 homeopening win over LAFC in a game played in a near blizzard on Saturday.
LAFC (1-1-0) had a 16-10 edge in shots against Zac Macmath, who made six saves for RSL (1-1-1) for his 61st shutout.
MISCELLANY World records set in Scotland
Netherlands runner Femke Bol broke her own 400 meters world record at the world athletics indoor championships on Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland. Bol won in 49.17 seconds and took 0.07 off the record she set two weeks ago at the Dutch championships.
On Sunday, Bahamian Devynne Charlton broke her own 60-meter hurdles world record. Charlton won in 7.65 seconds and took 0.02 off the record she set in New York on Feb. 11, which was matched by American runner Tia Jones five days later in New Mexico.
• Australian Alex De Minaur beat Casper Rudd 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to become the first player to win back-to back ATP titles in the Mexican Open since 2012.