NEW YORK – LeBron James came within 89 points to break the NBA career scoring record and climbed to fourth on the assists list, finishing with a triple-double on his return to Madison Square Garden, as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 129-123 on Tuesday night.
James had 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, with points earning him a career-high 38,299. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader with 38,387.
But James’ game has always been about more than scoring goals, as he proved again on Tuesday. He fed a 3-pointer to Dennis Schroder who made a 118 all-tie 3-13, later snagged his 10th rebound in overtime and then went in the basket 127-121 with 19 seconds left.
He had previously moved up to fourth on the assists list in his first game at Madison Square Garden in three years, ahead of Mark Jackson and then Steve Nash.
Anthony Davis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who lost two straight, to open their journey. Both James and Davis sat out their loss in Brooklyn on Monday.
Jalen Brunson had 37 points and Julius Randle had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks.
James’ 3-pointer with 1:41 rule time remaining gave the Lakers a 114-108 lead, but he then missed two long jumps that could have ended the game. The Knicks rallied to tie it at 114 with a basket from Brunson, who then intervened to draw an offensive foul after James Davis fed near the basket. But Randle failed to fire in time in the Knicks’ last possession, sending the Lakers into overtime for the second time in three games.
James sat out Monday with left foot pain, coach Darvin Ham said, although the Lakers listed the injury as an ankle. They listed him as questionable to play in the morning and then upgraded James to available after he moved well during a pre-game practice session.
He didn’t want to miss out on that after being injured two years ago and suspended last season for punching Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart in the face. His last game here was on January 22, 2000, when he was just days away from overtaking Kobe Bryant for third place on the career scorers list.
Now all that remains is to catch Abdul-Jabbar, which could happen in the next 10 days.
The game was tied at 90 before James fed Troy Brown Jr. with his eighth assist for a 3-pointer, then set up Thomas Bryant for a dunk that put him in fourth place for assists ahead of Jackson and then Nash. He has 10,338 assists.
James has previously cited MSG as one of his favorite places and this visit drew a sell-out crowd including celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, Michael B. Jordan, Emma Stone and Chris Rock. Fans filled the lower tiers of the arena just to watch James warm up, but he struggled to give them one of his classic performances when the game started.
He threw an airball in the second quarter as part of his 2-for-8 start but made his last two shots of the half and then threw a pass that Schroder heaved in from the halfcourt to hit the buzzer and cut it to 53. 52 at halftime.
TIP INS
Lakers: Patrick Beverley was out due to left knee pain. Ham said the keeper has had some tough defensive struggles lately and they’ve just been careful to give him a break.
Knicks: Quentin Grimes sophomore was selected on Tuesday to attend the Rising Stars All-Star Weekend. … The Knicks missed 13 or their first 15 shots as the Lakers took a 15-5 lead.
NEXT
Lakers: In Indiana on Thursday night.
Knicks: host Miami on Friday night.
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