The NBA’s all-time points leader LeBron James extended his historic record to 8,428 play-off points to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets in their first-round series on Friday (1 May) and set up a clash with defending NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 41-year-old basketball player was the top scorer of the night with 28 points. James also had seven rebounds and eight assists to lead the Lakers to a 98-78 victory over the Rockets and take the series 4-2 on Houston’s home courts.
“A lot of our guys, quite frankly, have not been in this position, have not been in a close-out situation, especially on the road, so it was important for me to go out and set the tone,” James, who is playing in his 19th playoffs, told Amazon Prime after the game.
“I have the most experience on the team and have the most play-off experience on the team so I know how a series can go. I just try to bleed that into them, bleed the confidence and tell them to go out and play.”
Fellow Lakers star Rui Hachimura, who is 13 years James’ junior, was the second highest scorer of the night with 21 points.
The Lakers will next face 2025 NBA champions Oklahoma in the Western Conference semi-final. The defending champions come off a dominant 4-0 series win over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
The first best-of-seven series game between the Lakers and Thunder will take place in Oklahoma on Tuesday, 5 May.