INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James had 26 factors, seven rebounds and 7 assists and pulled inside 63 factors of turning into the NBA’s profession scoring champ because the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 112-111 on Thursday night time.
James gave Los Angeles its first lead on a 3-pointer with 2:35 left within the sport, and Anthony Davis‘ 11-footer with 35.1 seconds left was the decisive basket. Davis completed with 31 factors and 14 rebounds.
Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 24 factors, newly minted All-Star Tyrese Haliburton added 26 factors and 12 assists in his first sport in three weeks and Myles Turner had 20 factors and 13 rebounds after signing a two-year contract extension Monday. However when Buddy Hield‘s 17-foot jumper clanked off the rim within the closing seconds, Indiana misplaced its fourth in a row.
Certainly one of Indiana’s largest crowds of the season cheered James warmly all through the fourth quarter, roaring loudly every time he scored as Indiana once more discovered itself on the forefront of a league-changing pursuit.
It was right here in Could 2021 that Russell Westbrook recorded his 181st profession triple-double to tie Oscar Robertson’s profession mark. And it was right here in December 2021 that Stephen Curry made 5 3-pointers to tug inside one in every of matching Ray Allen’s profession mark of two,973.
On Thursday, James grew to become the second participant in league historical past to prime the 38,300-point mark and left city with 38,325. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the NBA’s scoring file with 38,387 factors.
For a lot of the night time, it appeared as if Indiana would draw back, because of its pace. The Pacers led by double digits a lot of the first three quarters and led 98-84 early within the fourth.
However the Lakers took benefit of Indiana’s late fouls and the heroics of James and Davis down the stretch to return all the way in which again.
The Related Press contributed to this story.