LeBron James on Tuesday scored his 39,000th point on the way to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, as 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.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are likely to host a quarter-final game early next month to begin the knockout stages of the league’s first in-season tournament.
Los Angeles beat the Phoenix Suns, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah by a combined 74 points, capped by this blowout of the Jazz for the Lakers’ sixth victory in seven games overall.
Photo: AFP
Already the top scorer in NBA history, after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) last season, the 38-year-old James became the first player in league history to top 39,000 points early in the first quarter.
“I got congratulated by my teammates and coaches, [but] I haven’t had an opportunity to really wrap my head around what that means,” James said. “There’s been so many great players that came across this league since the beginning of time, and so many great scorers. To be able to accomplish something that’s the first of anything, I think that’s always pretty cool. It’s a wild moment, that’s for sure.”
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 and got their two superstars out of the game for good before the fourth began. James played only 24 minutes, while Davis dominated his 29 minutes, going 11 of 14 and even adding four assists.
“Being able to sleep in our beds and not having to travel, that’s always good,” Davis said of the Lakers’ tournament position. “We’re one step closer to winning the, uh, Cup? Is it the tournament Cup? NBA Cup? Something like that? So, one step closer.”
In Tuesday’s other games, Kevin Durant passed a scoring milestone, moving up to 11th place on the NBA’s career scoring list (with 27,331 points) in Phoenix’s 120-107 drubbing of Portland.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 157-152 in a rollicking shootout to also reach the knockout stages, while the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-119 edged the Philadelphia 76ers in an overtime victory and the Orlando Magic dominated the Toronto Raptors 126-107.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with AFP
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