LeBron James set a new NBA record by playing his 1,612th regular-season game in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 105-104 comeback win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Luka Doncic scored 33 points in the Lakers’ ninth-straight win, but was called for his 16th technical foul – an automatic one-game suspension by the league if it’s not rescinded.
LeBron had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals on his record-breaking night, the 41-year-old passing the mark Robert Parish held for nearly 30 years.
LeBron James sported special footwear to mark the occasion, with 1,612 stitched into his sneakers worn for his record appearance
Paolo Banchero, who led seven Magic players in double figures with 16 points, blocked a shot by James out of bounds with 4.7 seconds left. But, after a replay review, it was determined that the ball had not deflected off LeBron’s foot out of bounds – and so Los Angeles maintained possession.
That set up a Marcus Smart pass to Luke Kennard to make the winning three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to maintain the Lakers’ win streak.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after the game of LeBron’s latest NBA record, into his 23rd season in the league: “He’s had an awesome season. He’s had an awesome career.
“There’s just a deep-seated love for the game of the basketball. And to do it as long as he has, you not only need to have the love, but you need to the love for the commitment to prepare your body and to prepare mind and to get your rest.
“He loves the process, he really does. He loves his process, he loves his routine, he loves the feeling of being diligent.”
Durant passes Jordan on scoring list as Rockets win on the buzzer
Kevin Durant scored 27 points to move past Michael Jordan into fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list as the Houston Rockets beat the Miami Heat 123-122 on a last-second buzzer beater.
Kevin Durant celebrates after draining a three-pointer in the Houston Rockets’ win over the Miami Heat
Amen Thompson’s tip-in for Houston as time expired clinched victory after Durant’s shot for the win bounced off the rim.
The 37-year-old Durant now has 32,294 points for his career, two more than Jordan.
The Rockets had been up by two when Durant made consecutive three-pointers to make it 117-109, moving past Jordan with the second of them as he briefly lifted his arms in triumph after draining the shot.
“I got more to go, baby. But it is pretty sweet,” Durant told reporters after the game. “To be in the same category with the greats – a lot of these guys have inspired me to come out here and work on my game as much as I can and contribute to a team in a positive way.
Michael Jordan was a six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s
“MJ is in the world of his own. He’s in the planet, the galaxy of his own as somebody that I look up to respect and who basically shaped the game for me.”
Ben Adebayo had 32 points and tied a career high with 21 rebounds for the Heat, who edged into a 122-121 lead with 5.4 seconds to go but would ultimately lose a fourth straight.
Adebayo’s big rebounding night came after he had the second-highest scoring game in NBA history when he scored 83 points in a win over the Washington Wizards on March 10.
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