LeBron James moved past Michael Jordan up to fourth on the NBA all-time scoring list during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The 34-year-old hit 31 points to take his all-time tally to 32,311 and surpass Jordan’s haul of 32,292.
James has reached that landmark in significantly more games however, with 1,190 matches to Jordan’s 1,072.
👑 @KingJames (31 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST) moves up to 4th on the NBA's all-time scoring list! #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/B5aCfHCXMm — NBA (@NBA) March 7, 2019
“This ranks up there at the top (with) winning a championship,” James told the Lakers’ website.
“I mean, for a kid from Akron, Ohio, that needed inspiration and some type of positive influence, MJ was that guy for me.
“I watched him from afar. I wanted to be like MJ. I wanted to shoot fadeaways like MJ. I wanted to stick my tongue out on dunks like MJ. I wanted to wear my sneakers like MJ. I wanted kids to look up to me at some point like MJ. It’s crazy, to be honest. It’s beyond crazy.”
Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) are the only players above James on the all-time list.
Gordon Hayward scored a tie-breaking jumper with two seconds remaining on the clock to edge the Boston Celtics to a 111-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Al Horford notched up 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to give the Celtics back-to-back wins.
There was another narrow contest as the Chicago Bulls snatched a 108-107 win against the Philadelphia 76ers with only 1.6 seconds left in the match.
BULLS WIN! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yFdjrFT5E2 — Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 7, 2019
Zach LaVine grabbed the crucial score to take his match haul to a game-high 39 points and end the Bulls’ two-match losing streak.
New Orleans’ three-game winning run was ended by the Utah Jazz who claimed a 114-104 win thanks to Derrick Favors’ 25 points.
The San Antonio Spurs stretched their winning run to four as LaMarcus Aldridge hit 32 points in a 111-104 win against the Atlanta Hawks.
Coming back home with our fourth straight W.#GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/L7QDAZKFTX — San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 7, 2019
Derrick White also starred for the Spurs with 18 points and a career-high six blocks.
The Detroit Pistons kept up their fine run of form by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-114, Bradley Beal hit 30 points in the Washington Wizards’ 132-123 victory at home to the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 91-84.
Elsewhere, Devin Booker’s season-high 41 points lifted the Phoenix Suns to a 107-96 win over the New York Knicks.
