LeBron James took a giant leap towards history on Tuesday night, notching his first triple-double of the season to help the Los Angeles Lakers overpower the New York Knicks 129-123 in overtime and move closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA scoring record and two spots on the all-time assists list.
Dennis Schroder hit the tie-breaking three-pointer with 3:14 left in overtime to start a decisive 7-0 run by the Lakers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 37 points for the Knicks, who have lost two straight and six of eight.
James, who missed Los Angeles' Monday defeat to the Brooklyn Nets with a sore left ankle and left foot, finished with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He now has 38,299 points in his career, 89 points shy of breaking Abdul-Jabbar's record.
James' eighth and ninth assists of the game – leading to Troy Brown Jr.'s 3-pointer and a dunk by Thomas Bryant on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter – vaulted James past Mark Jackson (10,334 assists) and Steve Nash (10,335 assists) and into fourth place on the all-time list. James ended the night at 10,338.
Nuggets 122, Pelicans 113
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists for his NBA-leading 16th triple-double while Jamal Murray poured in 32 points as host Denver beat New Orleans.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon scored 15 points apiece and Michael Porter Jr. added 13 for the Nuggets, who won for just the second time in five games.
CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones scored 21 each and Brandon Ingram finished with 16 points for the Pelicans, who took their ninth straight loss.
Heat 100, Cavaliers 97
Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 23 points to pace four scorers in double figures as visiting Miami beat Cleveland.
Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro each added 18 points for Miami, which is now 1-1 on a four-game road trip. Adebayo grabbed 11 rebounds and Martin hauled in 10 for the Heat, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 19 points while Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland each scored 16 points for the Cavaliers, who have not won back-to-back games since Jan. 2-4, when they defeated the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.
Clippers 108, Bulls 103
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 33 points, Norman Powell added 27 and Paul George notched a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double as Los Angeles edged Chicago.
Los Angeles capitalized on 20 Chicago turnovers to improve to 2-1 on a six-game road trip and win for the sixth time in seven games. Ivica Zubac also had a double-double, contributing 14 points and 12 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan, who scored 20 points as one of six Bulls in double figures, had a career-high eight turnovers.
Bucks 124, Hornets 115
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and Milwaukee survived a turbulent fourth quarter to record its fifth consecutive victory, beating visiting Charlotte.
Milwaukee went nearly seven minutes between made field goals in the fourth period, and Charlotte steadily whittled down what had been a 17-point Bucks lead with less than seven minutes remaining to five points with just over a minute to go. Foul shooting proved to be enough for Milwaukee to keep the Hornets at bay, as the Bucks went five of six at the line in the final 1:14.
Charlotte went cold after cutting the deficit to five points. Jalen McDaniels missed a three-point attempt with one minute remaining that would have made it a one-possession game, and P.J. Washington committed a foul that effectively ended the rally. LaMelo Ball kept the Hornets in it with his second triple-double of the season. He scored a team-high 27 points, dished a game-high 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.