NBA: Embiid, 76ers nip Lakers as James hit 38,000 mark

LOS ANGELES – A milestone night for LeBron James was sullied after the Los Angeles Lakers lost 113-112 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena.

James contributed 35 points and 10 assists for the Lakers while reaching the 38,000-point mark for his career on a first-quarter basket.

He is one of just two players to reach the scoring plateau as he closes in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s National Basketball Association record of 38,387 points. With 38,024, he trails by only 363.

However, Joel Embiid scored 35 points with 11 rebounds, while James Harden added 24 points and 13 assists as the Sixers edged out the Lakers for their seventh win in their past nine games.

With less than 400 points away from surpassing Lakers great Abdul-Jabbar, James, who has averaged 29 points per game this season, is expected to achieve the feat this campaign, should fitness issues not get the better of the 38-year-old forward, who is playing in his 20th NBA season.

James had discussed this possible accomplishment at the start of this term.

“To sit here and to know that I’m on the verge of breaking probably the most sought-after record in the NBA, things that people said would probably never be done, it’s just super humbling for myself,” he said at media day.

“It’s super cool... To be able to be in the same breath as a guy that wore this same uniform, a guy that was a staple of this franchise, along with Magic (Johnson), Big Game (James Worthy) over there for so many years... is just super-duper dope, for myself to even be in that conversation.”

Los Angeles lost their third consecutive game but have been far more competitive while going 5-3 since Dec 30. James has played six of those eight games and has scored at least 30 points in four of them.

James looked determined early, scoring 16 points in the first quarter and reaching 38,001 points on a jumper from the top of the key with 5min 43sec remaining in the opening period. However, the 76ers led 33-32 after one quarter as Embiid scored 14 points.

In a tight game throughout, the Lakers led 58-57 at half-time before the 76ers went ahead 86-83 through three quarters.

Los Angeles pulled within a point on a three-pointer from Troy Brown Jr with 37sec left and got the ball back after an Embiid miss.

But they were unable to win in the closing seconds as Russell Westbrook, who had 20 points with 14 rebounds and 11 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, lost the handle on a go-ahead lay-up bid at the buzzer.

Wenyen Gabriel scored 14 points for the Lakers, while Brown added 13 and Thomas Bryant had 10. Tobias Harris scored 15 points for the Sixers. REUTERS