LeBron James moved closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record and gained two spots on the all-time assists list Tuesday night, 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) into fourth place on the all-time list. James ended the night at 10,338.
Anthony Davis contributed 27 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, while Rui Hachimura finished with 19 points. Russell Westbrook added 17 points and eight 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 eight 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 3-pointer by James gave the Lakers a 114-108 edge with 1:41 left in regulation before the Knicks scored the final six 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 3-pointer.
–Field Level Media
