Regardless, Monday night was not a good night for the Los Angeles Lakers. They were outscored 138-94 by the Philadelphia 76ers, who fired heat-seeking missile after heat-seeking missile from the three-point line — 22 in total, to be exact.
Almost nothing went right for the Lakers in this game. They shot just 7 of 28 from beyond the arc, were outscored by a wide margin, and took twice as many free throws as themselves.
LeBron James scored a modest 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting in 30 minutes, but he’s coming off an impressive season as he approaches his 39th birthday.
He recently reached 39,000 career points, and on Monday he became the NBA’s leader in combined regular season and playoff minutes.
Four seasons ago in Philadelphia, James surpassed the late great Kobe Bryant on the league’s all-time career scoring list, setting another statistical milestone.
When James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to reach the all-time playing time mark, it spoke to the Lakers’ rich championship tradition. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the legendary Purple and Gold center who played for 20 seasons and is arguably the greatest big man of all time. The greatest player of all time.