LeBron James became only the second player in NBA history to score more than 38,000 points in a season on Sunday. However, his Los Angeles Lakers suffered their third defeat in a row, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 113-112 on Sunday.
On the NBA’s all-time scoring list, James is currently tied with fellow Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second place with 38,387 points, and he is expected to surpass that mark in the coming weeks.
For the Lakers, James scored 35 points, had 10 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds to surpass the 38,000 mark in the first quarter. Both the players and the crowd recognized James’ accomplishment.
However, James was not in the mood to reflect on his own personal milestone after the game ended in defeat for the Lakers, with Joel Embiid scoring 35 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the 76ers.
When asked if he was thinking about the accomplishment, he simply said no and chose to think about the poor performance of his team.
The Lakers’ Russell Westbrook was unable to make a move in the game’s final seconds.
He stated, “We got a stop, gave ourselves a chance to win the game, but didn’t.”
The Montenegrin star Nikola Vucevic scored 43 points in the Bulls’ 132-118 victory over the slumping NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Vucevic stepped up in place of injured DeMar DeRozan to help the Bulls end their three-game losing streak at Chicago’s United Center.
Chicago’s balanced all-around offensive display featured six players with double-digit point totals, and Vucevic’s performance was the highlight.
Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points, while Zach LaVine had 27 points. From the bench, Coby White added 15 points.
Vucevic, who made five three-pointers and shot 18-for-31 from the field, said, “I got going really early.” It’s difficult to convey. You just get the feeling inside that this is going to be kind of your night, and you just play.
“The ball really moved for us. I was able to get into my spots because we played offensively with a great deal of aggression.
The Bulls (20-24) will now travel to Paris next week for a regular-season game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. Another red flag for the struggling Warriors, the NBA champions who currently sit eighth in the Western Conference standings with a record of 21-22, was the loss.
Klay Thompson scored 26 points to lead Golden State, but the Warriors were hurt by 23 turnovers.
Steve Kerr, the Warriors’ head coach, stated, “We’re having trouble stacking good decisions upon good decisions.”
Kerr continued, “You can make any excuse you want, but it doesn’t matter.” Everyone has reasons, injuries, and players in and out of the rotation. We just need to improve.”
Nikola Jokic scored the game-tying three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Denver Nuggets, who lead the Western Conference, a 119-116 victory over the Orlando Magic.
With 17 points, ten rebounds, and 14 assists, Jokic recorded his 12th triple-double of the season.
With a score of 117-104, the New York Knicks defeated Detroit for their third consecutive victory, led by a season-high 42 points from Julius Randle.
The Knicks, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference, won easily thanks to Randle’s 15 rebounds and the 27 points scored by teammate Jalen Brunson.
In their 140-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trail Blazers were led by 40 points from Damian Lillard. Luka Doncic, the Mavericks’ Slovenian star, was given a rest before the game.
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