James surpasses 39k points in blowout win
LOS ANGELES — Lebron James scored his 39,000th point on the way to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten run through group play in the NBA In-season Tournament with a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are likely to host a quarterfinal game early next month to begin the knockout stages of the league’s first inseason tournament.
The 38-year-old James became the first player in league history to top 39,000 points early in the first quarter. The milestone was another stop in James’ steamrolling of the world’s previous standards for basketball longevity: He began the night averaging 26.4 points per game, by far the most production from any player in NBA history who made it to a 21st season.
D’angelo Russell added 20 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who went up by 30 in the third quarter. James played only 24 minutes, while Davis dominated his 29 minutes, going 11 of 14 and even adding four assists.
Austin Reaves scored 19 points and Christian Wood had a season-high 16 while Los Angeles improved to 7-1 at home this season and Utah fell to 1-6 on the road.
John Collins scored 15 points and Omer Yurtseven had a season-high 18 for the Jazz, who dropped to 2-2 in tournament play with their seventh loss in nine games overall.
Starting forward Cam Reddish played only five minutes before leaving with groin soreness.
■ Pacers 157, Hawks 152: At Atlanta, Tyrese Haliburton scored 37 points and Buddy Hield hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute as Indiana clinched a spot in the In-season Tournament quarterfinals. Trae Young led the Hawks with 38 points and eight assists.
■ Suns 120, Trail Blazers
107: At Phoenix, Kevin Durant scored 31 points in his 1,000th career game, passing Elvin Hayes for 11th place all time with 27,330 points in his career. Jerami Grant scored 26 points to lead Portland.
■ Cavaliers 122, 76ers 119: At Philadelphia, Darius Garland scored 32 points and Jarrett Allen added 26 for Cleveland, which outrebounded Philadelphia 61-53. The 76ers were eliminated from tournament contention.
■ Magic 126, Raptors 107:
At Orlando, Fla., Paolo Banchero scored 25 points and Jalen
Suggs added 18 as Orlando won its fourth straight. The Raptors dropped to 0-2 in the In-season Tournament.