LEBRON James moved closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record and gained two spots on the all-time assists list Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila), when the Los Angeles Lakers superstar posted his first triple-double of the season to spark a 129-123 overtime win over the host New York Knicks.
Dennis Schroder hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:14 left in overtime to start a decisive 7-0 run by the Lakers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 37 points for the Knicks, who have lost two straight and six of eight.
James, who missed Los Angeles’ Monday defeat to the Brooklyn Nets with a sore left ankle and left foot, finished with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He now has 38,299 points in his career, 89 points shy of breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
James’ eighth and ninth assists of the game– leading to Troy Brown Jr.’s 3-pointer and a dunk by Thomas Bryant on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter– vaulted James past Mark Jackson (10,334 assists) and Steve Nash (10,335 assists) and into fourth place on the all-time list. James ended the night at 10,338.
In other games, it was the Nuggets 122, Pelicans 113; Heat 100, Cavs 97; Clippers 108, Bulls 103; and Bucks 124, Hornets 115.
Nuggets 122, Pelicans 113
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists for his NBA-leading 16th triple-double while Jamal Murray poured in 32 points as host Denver beat New Orleans.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon scored 15 points apiece and Michael Porter Jr. added 13 for the Nuggets, who won for just the second time in five games.
CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones scored 21 each and Brandon Ingram finished with 16 points for the Pelicans, who took their ninth straight loss.
Heat 100, Cavs 97
Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 23 points to pace four scorers in double figures as visiting Miami beat Cleveland.
Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro each added 18 points for Miami, which is now 1-1 on a four-game road trip. Adebayo grabbed 11 rebounds and Martin hauled in 10 for the Heat, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 19 points while Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each scored 16 points for the Cavaliers, who haven’t won back-to-back games since Jan. 2-4, when they defeated the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns. — Field Level Media
