In a momentous milestone for basketball enthusiasts worldwide, LeBron James has etched his name in the annals of the sport’s history as he surpassed the legendary Oscar Schmidt to claim the title of the all-time leading scorer.
LeBron James scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-111 on Tuesday night for their seventh win in eight games. D’Angelo Russell shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, Rui Hachimura had 14 and Max Christie 12 as the Lakers handed slumping Toronto a 14th straight loss.
The NBA’s career scoring leader, James shot 10 for 12 and had nine assists. James came in having matched his career high with nine 3-pointers in Sunday’s win at Brooklyn. The 20-time All-Star took just one shot from distance against the Raptors, connecting with 5.22 left in the third quarter.
Davis remained on the bench for the entirety of the fourth quarter, while James exited the game with 9:22 left in the final period after the Los Angeles team widened their lead to 27 points, with the score at 109-82. The Lakers will be heading to face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
RJ Barrett contributed 28 points, with Immanuel Quickley adding 20 for the Raptors. Notably, Toronto endured a franchise-record 17-game losing streak back in the 1997-98 season.
Gary Trent Jr. of Toronto opted to sit out for rest, whereas Barrett and Quickley returned to action after being sidelined due to personal reasons and reconditioning. Despite their efforts, which resulted in a combined 17 points in the first quarter, the Lakers closed out the quarter with an 18-4 run, establishing a 34-25 lead after the opening period.