LeBron passes Kobe, fans make it a Philly moment
PHILADELPHIA >> LeBron James made more history at Wells Fargo Center.
But this time it was bittersweet. The building packed with fans and sports celebrities, from new Phillies manager Joe Girardi to Miles Sanders and Jalen Mills of the Eagles, James passed Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time NBA scoring list with a trademark driving layup with 7:16 left in the third quarter.
It gave James 33,644 points in this, his 17th season. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl “The Mailman” Malone (36,928) have more points.
The Sixers erupted for a 108-91 victory, Tobias Harris totalling 29 points, Ben Simmons 28. James finished with 29. Anthony Davis added 31 points.
While James appreciates the milestone, he’s just as proud of leading the NBA in assists this season with an average of 10.8 entering the game.
“I’ve never seen myself as a scorer,” James said. “I’ve seen myself as just a basketball player, and I’ve always wanted to have that triple-threat mentality of being able to pass or rebound or score at times. I’ve always loved the excitement that I gave my teammates by giving them the ball and seeing them score since I first ever started playing basketball.”
The flip side is that Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton and Tobias Harris, among others made the Los Angeles Lakers captain uncomfortable almost every step along the way.
When James elevated, there was a Sixer in the air with him. When James took the ball to the rack, there were usually at least two Sixers to fight through.
When James elevated and tried to dish the ball off, teammates were out of position.
After LeBron got within a basket of the record, he needed four shots to get over the hump. When he looked up at the scoreboard the Lakers were in a 74-56 hole. And it got worse before it got better.
Think about it. A Sixers team without the services of superstar Joel Embiid, the shot blocker extraordinaire, and scoring guard Josh Richardson outplayed the winningest team in the West.
Yes, the Lakers were playing their fourth game in six nights, all on the road. Yet by the looks of things it was hard to believe they had 35 victories.
When Harris burst past the Charmin
soft defense of Kyle Kuzma for a jam, the Sixers had a 74-52 cushion with 7:35 left in the third quarter. That’s significant because Kuzma was the only guy James played with regularly last season.
For much of the evening James was playing with Danny Green, who started for the NBA defending champion Toronto Raptors, Anthony Davis, acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans and Dwight Howard, playing for his sixth different team.
The Sixers had their hiccups. Turnovers and three-point shots enabled the Lakers to claw within five points with 4:30 remaining.
But veteran center Al Horford bailed Brett Brown’s team out with a three-pointer that gave the Sixers a 98-88 lead with 3:45 to go. It was Horford again and again, scoring seven straight points in a late spree to give the Sixers their 30th victory.
Exactly the way Brown and his players wanted it.
James needed 17 shots, including 10 free throws, to score 14 first-half points. Simmons, Thybulle and Milton all took turns guarding him.
The Sixers led by as many as a dozen points late in the half ending with James going to the bench with three fouls, two of the offensive variety.
The fans at the Center gave James an ovation during the first time out after his record-setting bucket. One of the greatest players of all time, he acknowledged them with an outstretched arm. It was class personified on both fronts.
When it was over the Sixers celebrated the victory in which they limited the Lakers (36-10) to their fewest points of the season.