DENVER — LeBron James, the king of NBA milestones, broke another record held by Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday night.
Unfortunately, his reward for such an achievement was a sore elbow — and a Lakers loss.
James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of a 120-113 loss that ended the Lakers’ three-game winning streak.
After scoring over Denver center Nikola Jokic in the fourth quarter, James fell to the court and immediately grabbed his left elbow. He eventually got up and went to the bench with 3:58 remaining. He returned with 2:05 left and the Lakers down 112-111 before leaving again with 22 seconds left after Jokic scored consecutive baskets to give the Nuggets a 116-111 lead.
Lakers star LeBron James grimaces after falling to the court during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
Sitting at his locker with his elbow wrapped in ice, James expressed frustration with referees not calling a foul on the play that led to his injury.
“That’s all [the referees] keep saying, ‘marginal.’ I’m so … tired of that word,” James said. “It doesn’t make no sense.”
And his elbow?
“It’s pretty sore right now,” James said. “It felt like one of those funny bone situations, but like, super more intense.”
It’s unclear if James will play against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
“Hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow and it doesn’t feel too much worse than it is now,” James said. “Or, if it feels better, that would be great. So, it’s day to day. We’ll see what happens.”
Jokic finished with a triple-double of 28 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Jamal Murray had 28 points and two game-sealing free throws for Denver (39-24).
James finished with 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds and Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
James entered the game needing to make three field goals to pass Abdul-Jabbar for the most made field goals in league history. James tied Abdul-Jabbar’s mark for most regular-season field goals when he dunked off a lob pass from Doncic with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
He set the new mark of 15,838 with a fadeaway jumper near the Lakers’ bench with 11.8 seconds left in the first quarter.
“I mean, it’s one of my patented shots,” James said about his record-breaking jumper. “It’s something I’ve worked on throughout my career. So, to be able to have that ability to make that shot is pretty cool.”
When James went to the bench with the Lakers (37-25) trailing 32-22 at the end of the quarter, the Denver Nuggets’ public address announcer told the crowd about his accomplishment. James was given a standing ovation from the fans at Ball Arena.
James finished the game with 15,842 career field goals. He became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer when he passed Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387 points on Feb. 7, 2023.
“Obviously I feel my elbow and I feel the loss. Obviously it’s a pretty cool feat, but it’s hard for me to kind of wrap my head around it or what it looks like,” James said. “It’s something that I never had a goal to have that record. I came into this league understanding that I had to start from scratch. As the No. 1 player in the country, I had to start from scratch and get myself up that plateau of being the No. 1 player in the world again.
“So that was my only mindset. … And tonight was not one of the goals. But it’s a pretty cool feat and it’s an unbelievable feat to see the list and see the players who have done it, who have come into this league. I don’t know how many players have played in the NBA, but it’s the greatest players in the world. And for my name to be mentioned with the greats and be at the top of it is awesome.”
Ayton sustains knee injury in first quarter
Lakers center Deandre Ayton left the game in the first quarter after sustaining a knee injury.
He played four minutes and 30 seconds and had two rebounds and no points.
Jaxson Hayes started the second half in Ayton’s place and finished with 19 points.
Ayton entered the game averaging 12.8 points on 66.8% shooting with 8.3 rebounds.
Etc.
Doncic picked up his 15th technical foul of the season against the Nuggets. If he draws one more technical before the end of the season, he will receive an automatic one-game suspension.
“Yeah, he’s aware that he’s close,” Redick said before the game. “And I think he’s trying [not to get anymore].”