The LA Lakers beat the Utah Jazz in the in-season tournament, and LeBron James scored 39,000 points. He was the first player in NBA history to do so.
He got 17 points in a 131–99 win in Los Angeles that put them in the quarterfinals. He only needed five points to do it.
James, who is 38 years old, passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a legendary Lakers player, to become the all-time top scorer with 38,387 points in February.
“I haven’t really had a chance to wrap my head around what it means,” said James.
“This league has had a lot of great players and scorers since the beginning of time.”
“It’s always cool to be the first to do something. Definitely a crazy moment.”
When his name was called, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player honored the crowd at the Crypto.com Arena.
James made nine passes and seven rebounds, and Anthony Davis made 26 points and 16 rebounds.
With a 157-152 win at home over the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers made it to the last eight.
Tyrese Haliburton said this week that the event gave early-season games “more juice.” He scored 37 points to help the Pacers come back from being down 20 points in the first half.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-119 in overtime, with 32 points from Darius Garland. The win kept their chances of making the playoffs alive.
On December 4 and 5, the quarterfinals will be held. On December 7, the semis will be held, and on December 9, the final will be held in Las Vegas.
