The Los Angeles Lakers (25-29) fell to the New Orleans Pelicans (27-27) Saturday at Smoothie King Center as LeBron James drew closer to breaking the NBA scoring record (38,387) set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James, 38, finished the contest with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes of action. He is now just 36 points away from becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Lakers were in control for most of the game against the Pelicans until a poor, 20-point fourth quarter saw them lose another close match. New Orleans snapped a 10-game skid with the victory.
Former Laker Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 35 points, one more than Anthony Davis, who added 14 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook, who was questionable to play in this game, did not see any minutes down the final stretch of the contest.
Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram put on a show in New Orleans 👀
Ingram: 35 PTS
AD: 34 PTS pic.twitter.com/bxp0W0eNeQ— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2023
When will LeBron James break scoring record?
Westbrook, 34, has been linked to a potential trade for Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving. He scored 15 points in 23 minutes off the bench against New Orleans.
Pelicans were without Zion Williamson (hamstring) and they continue to prove that it’s not a one-man show in New Orleans.
While it’s possible that King James breaks the record Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’ll be more poetic if he does so against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. Both are home matches at Crypto.com Arena.
Breaking the record against Abdul-Jabbar’s first professional team, while playing for his second and final franchise, would be like a movie ending for James.
