The Lakers rallied from a 25-point halftime deficit to beat the Blazers on Sunday, marking the NBA‘s biggest second-half comeback this season and matched the largest second-half comeback of LeBron James‘ regular-season career.
James was no small part of the rally. He had 17 of his 37 points in the third quarter, by the end of which the Lakers had trimmed that 25-point deficit to just five.
With the 37 points, James moves even closer to becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a distinction currently held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You can see below where James’ pursuit of Jabbar’s mark stands.
|
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
38,387 |
___ |
|
LeBron James |
38,164 |
224 |
For the season, James is averaging 29.7 points per game. If he maintains that pace, he will need just eight more games to pass Abdul-Jabbar. If James doesn’t sit out any games between now and then, and again, if the pace is maintained, the record would come against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 7 at home.
The Lakers host the Bucks on Feb. 9 and travel to face the Warriors on Feb. 11, which could become record-setting dates if LeBron sits any games over the next three weeks.
- LeBron’s last three games: 37 at Portland; 23 vs. Memphis, 32 vs. Sacramento
- LeBron’s next three games: vs. Clippers (Jan. 24); vs. San Antonio (Jan. 25); at Boston (Jan. 28)
“I’m excited to see it happen. I don’t see records as personal accomplishments, but more as human achievements,” Adbul-Jabbar said ahead of the 2021-22 season about LeBron potentially breaking his record. “If one person can do something that’s never been done, that means we all have a shot at doing it. It’s a source of hope and inspiration. Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile back in 1954. Since then, not only have 1,400 runners beaten that time, but the new record is 17 seconds less. We all win when a record is broken and if LeBron breaks mine, I will be right there to cheer him on.”
This post will update after each game until LeBron is atop the all-time scoring list.
