LeBron James scored 46 against the Clippers to move closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record

LeBron James is getting close.

The Los Angeles Lakers star entered Tuesday needing 224 points to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s scoring leader. It’s much closer after a 46-point effort in a 133-115 loss to Los Angeles Clippers.

Even in a losing effort, James gave fans their money’s worth. In addition to this scoring output, he recorded eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals, a block, zero turnovers, and zero personal fouls in 32 minutes. He shot 9 of 14 from deep, a career high in three-pointers made in a single game.

The final score wasn’t even close, but James drove a run in the final quarter to cut the deficit to 10 before the Clippers aggressively regained control.

A 40-point break against the Clippers also completed James’ 40-point tally against all 30 NBA teams, an unprecedented feat. Three more players Scored 40 against 29 teams: Kevin DurantAnd James Harden And Kobe Bryant, who never played for the Lakers.

LeBron James breaking the NBA record is only a matter of time

James doesn’t keep up the record on the fumes of the later phase of his stellar career. far from it. His scoring average of 29.8 points over 37 games would rank fourth highest in his 20 NBA seasons.

James averaged 20.9 points per game as a junior and hasn’t fallen from that pace since. He’s on schedule to break Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 100+ games played less than his fellow Lakers greats. Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in 1,560 matches. The Lakers’ game against the Clippers on Tuesday was the 1,404th game of James’ career.

The pace had James on his way to passing Abdul-Jabbar sometime in February. Here’s the upcoming slate of Lakers fixtures as James seeks one of the last great feats of his football career.

Wednesday: against. San Antonio SpursAnd 10:30 p.m. ET

Saturday: in Boston CelticsAnd 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

January 30: in Brooklyn NetworksAnd 7:30 p.m. ET (NBA TV)

January 31: in New York KnicksAnd 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)

Story continues

February 2: in Indiana PacersAnd 7 p.m. ET

February 4: in New Orleans PelicansAnd 8 p.m. ET

February 7: against. Oklahoma City ThunderAnd 10:30 p.m. ET

February 9: against. Milwaukee BucksAnd 10 p.m. ET (TNT)

February 11: in Golden State WarriorsAnd 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

February 13: in Portland Trail BlazersAnd 10 p.m. ET

February 15: against the New Orleans Pelicans, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)