James joins ‘Big O’ in record books

CLEVELAND — No player in NBA history stuffed a stat sheet quite like Oscar Robertson. The “Big O” was a tripledouble machine.

On Monday night, LeBron James moved into his rarefied air.

James joined Robertson on an exclusive list, and Kevin Love scored a season-high 34 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers remained unbeaten at home with a 117-103 win over the Orlando Magic.

James had 15 points and 13 assists and joined the legendary Robertson as the only players in history to rank in the top 25 in career points and assists.

“He’s a guy who laid the foundation,” James said of Robertson, “and I’m just trying to carry it on.”

With his fifth assist, James moved past Norm Nixon (6,386) into 25th place and moved alongside Robertson, who finished his hall-of-fame career with 26,710 points and 9,887 assists. James will soon eclipse Robertson’s scoring total and is a good bet to pass him on the assists list as well.

“I give all the credit to the two great franchises I’ve been a part of and the players and the teammates and the coaching staffs that I’ve played for so far that have allowed me to go out and do the things I’ve done in my career,” James said. “So none of that would be possible without them.”

Love scored 27 in the first half — 17 in a row in one stretch for the Cavs, who made 18 threepointers and improved to 8-0 at home. J.R. Smith added 26 points.

While some fans overlook Robertson when debating who are the game’s best players, James knows better.

“If you are a true basketball fan and you know the history of the game, there is no way he can ever be lost,” James said.