LeBron James became just the second player in NBA history to reach 38,000 career points, but Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-112 on Sunday night , their seventh win in nine games.
With Embiid defending, Russell Westbrook failed to complete a clean shot or pass at the last second, allowing the Sixers to retain their fourth straight win. James Harden had 24 points and 13 assists for Philadelphia, sweeping the season series and beating Los Angeles for the sixth straight time.
James contributed 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost three straight after a five-game winning streak.
James scored 16 points on 8 of 9 shots in the first quarter and broke through 38,000 points with a jumper. When the milestone was announced during the next timeout, the Lakers crowd applauded him, and Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers celebrated by hugging James with a smile.
James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only members of the NBA’s 38,000-point club, and if James maintains his current pace, he will surpass Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) for the career scoring leader next month .
[When will LeBron pass Kareem: NBA all-time scoring tracker]
In a well-played game, neither team led by more than eight points. George Niang hit a 3-pointer assisted by Embiid with 1:28 left to give Philadelphia a 111-109 lead.
A lengthy video review then overruled a call and led to a James turnover before Embiid hit a 14-foot jumper with 45.5 seconds left. Troy Brown Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut Philadelphia’s lead to one point, and Embiid missed a jumper against Westbrook.
Westbrook had a chance to drive to the rim but couldn’t shoot or pass, and an apparent cross-pass attempt blocked Niang’s hand before time ran out.
Westbrook had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, extending his NBA record with his 198th career triple-double. Westbrook had four triple-doubles off the bench this season, which moved him past Detlef Schrempf for the career record for a triple-double off the bench.
Tyrese Maxey scored 16 points and Tobias Harris had 15 for Philadelphia’s fourth road win over the Lakers since March 2020.
The Associated Press reported.
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