LOS ANGELES — Will Barton scored 23 points, Gary Harris added 19 and the Denver Nuggets snapped their three-game losing streak with a 115-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night (Thursday morning, Philippine time) despite LeBron James’ move into fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
James scored 31 points and surpassed Michael Jordan’s 32,292 career points on a driving layup during the second quarter. His Lakers erased most an early 23-point deficit before fading in the fourth quarter of their fourth consecutive loss.
Los Angeles star LeBron James gestures in a game against Denver. | Ap photo
Denver (43-21) blew all but two points of its huge early lead, but Harris and Nikola Jokic contributed key baskets down the stretch of the Nuggets’ first win of March.
Jamal Murray scored 19 points and Jokic had 12 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who had lost four straight to the Lakers on the road despite their growth into an elite NBA team during that time period.
JaVale McGee added 16 points for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball.
James now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643).