LOS Angeles Lakers star LeBron James owned the spotlight Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) by setting the NBA’s all-time scoring record, although the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder left their mark on the proceedings by earning a 133-130 victory.
James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record of 38,387 points on a fallaway jumper from just beyond the free-throw line with 10.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter. He finished with 38 points in the game to give him 38,390 in his 20-year-career.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and dished out eight assists for the Thunder, while Jalen Williams added 25 points. The Thunder led by as many as 15 points in the first half and were up by 13 in the third quarter, but James’ milestone basket brought Los Angeles within 104-99 heading into the final period.
The Lakers tied the game at 106-106 on a hoop by Rui Hachimura with 9:34 remaining, but a 12-0 run by the Thunder, capped by a layup from Josh Giddey, gave the visitors a 118-106 advantage with seven minutes left. Kenrich Williams’ dunk with 6.6 seconds left gave the Thunder a six-point edge. Los Angeles halved the deficit on a 3-pointer by Patrick Beverley with 1.3 seconds to go.
In other games, it was the Nuggets 146, Wolves 112; Suns 116, Nets 112; Knicks 102, Magic 98; Pelicans 116, Hawks 107; and Grizzlies 104, Bulls 89.
Nuggets 146, Wolves 112
Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for his 19th triple-double of the season and host Denver scored a season high in points versus Minnesota.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Aaron Gordon finished with 24 as Denver produced season highs in points for a quarter (49 in the first) and a half (79 in the first).
Anthony Edwards and Luka Garza had 19 points apiece for the Timberwolves. D’Angelo Russell scored 10 before being ejected in the third quarter.
Suns 116, Nets 112
Deandre Ayton tied a career high with 35 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as Phoenix held on to win in Brooklyn, despite a record-breaking night by the Nets’ Cam Thomas.
Ayton made 14 of 18 shots as the Suns won for the ninth time in 11 games. He also
converted a tiebreaking three-point play with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter, and Phoenix never trailed again.
Thomas scored 43 points after pouring in 47 and 44 in his previous two games. He became the first player in franchise history with three straight 40-point games and scored 13 of his points in the fourth. At 21 years, 117 days, Thomas also became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in three straight games. — Field Level Media
