LeBron James moved closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record and gained two spots on the all-time assists list, 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 on Tuesday night, January 31 (Wednesday (February 1, Manila time).
Dennis Schroder hit the tiebreaking three-pointer with 3:14 left in overtime to start a decisive 7-0 run by the Lakers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
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 three-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) into fourth place on the all-time list. James ended the night at 10,338.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 37 points for the Knicks, who have lost two straight and six of eight.
Anthony Davis contributed 27 points and 9 rebounds for the Lakers, while Rui Hachimura finished with 19 points. Russell Westbrook added 17 points and 8 assists off the bench while Schroder scored 12 points.
Julius Randle (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (16 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Knicks. Immanuel Quickley had 19 points and 8 assists while RJ Barrett (13 points) and Quentin Grimes (12 points) also scored in double figures.
Neither team led by more than 10 points. A three-pointer by James gave the Lakers a 114-108 edge with 1:41 left in regulation before the Knicks scored the final 6 points of the fourth. Brunson sank the tying jumper with 24 seconds left.
Brunson drew a charge by Davis with 4.5 seconds remaining, but Randle, draped by Davis along the baseline, couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.
The teams were tied twice in overtime before Schroder’s three-pointer. – Rappler.com
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