Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) embrace after an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Yannick Peterhans)
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James reached 40,000 points, but Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets made a late push to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-114 on Saturday night in the NBA.
Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 3:49 remaining to put Denver back in front, and the Nuggets closed on a 16-6 run for their sixth straight win. Michael Porter Jr. made all five of his 3s to finish with 25 points, Jamal Murray had 24 points and 11 assists, and Gordon ended up with 18 points.
James had 26 points and nine assists while checking off his latest milestone, but the Lakers couldn’t get their third straight win. Rui Hachimura had 23 points, and Anthony Davis added 17 points and 11 rebounds as all five Los Angeles starters had at least 17 points.
The Joker put on a show during the 2023 WCF rematch in LA 🃏
35 PTS
10 REB
7 AST
W pic.twitter.com/IUVVSIAjYm— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2024
James spun around Porter and drove the lane to hit a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter to become the first NBA player with 40,000 points while extending his lead as the league’s career scoring leader.
James received a standing ovation at the next timeout, while coach Darvin Ham gave him a congratulatory pat on the chest as he came to the sideline. There was an in-arena video presentation, which was preceded and followed by James raising the ball over his head to the delight of fans, many of whom were wearing his Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or St. Vincent–St. Mary High School jersey.
James had 11 points in the history-making first half, helping the Lakers take a 66-58 lead at the break. Davis, Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell each had 13 points, with Los Angeles shooting 57.4% from the field (27 for 47).
Jokic was his typical prolific self, pacing the Nuggets with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in the half. Porter made all three of his 3-point attempts, but the rest of Denver shot 2 for 11 (18.2%) from deep.
Jokic ran off 13 straight points for the Nuggets in the third quarter to put them up by as many as four before the Lakers tied it at 89 going into the fourth.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Nuggets: Host Phoenix on Tuesday.
Lakers: Host Oklahoma City on Monday.