Lakers star LeBron James on his way to the basket. Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP/dpa (Image: dpa)
(Foto: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP/dpa)
San Francisco – LeBron James is the most prolific pitcher in NBA history, scoring more points in the main round and playoffs than any other professional basketball player.
In the narrow 115:117 loss of the Los Angeles Lakers against the Golden State Warriors, James now overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had scored 44,149 points in his career. James now stands at 44,157. In the more prestigious category, points in the main round, Abdul-Jabbar, active from 1969 to 1989, still leads by 1861 points.
James: «I love basketball»
“It’s not easy for me to talk about it because I hate it when it happens when you lose,” James said after the next milestone in his impressive career. James, who ended up with 26 points against the Warriors, said he was very grateful to have been active for so long. “I love basketball, I love being a part of the NBA and having the opportunity to inspire so many generations,” said James. “I think that’s a big deal.”
“That’s pretty cool. It’s incredible,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel before the game. “Everything he has done during his career is just remarkable. So I think he’s the greatest that has ever played.”
The best pitcher in San Francisco was Klay Thompson, who scored 33 points and thus had more points than almost three years ago. Thompson had completely missed the past two seasons with the Warriors with injuries. Now he made sure that the Warriors did not let the gap to leaders Phoenix Suns get any bigger. The Western Conference number one won 132-105 against the Orlando Magic for his 46th win of the season. Franz Wagner scored twelve points for the Magic.
Mavs star Doncic convinces again
Despite a significantly improved performance, the defeat was particularly annoying for the Lakers because city rivals Los Angeles Clippers won the away game at the Dallas Mavericks and thus landed an important victory in the fight for the playoff spots. At 99:97 in Dallas, Luka Doncic, who once again played outstandingly, was unable to stop the Clippers. The Slovenian had 45 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but was unable to prevent his 24th loss of the season against his Western Conference rivals.
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