The Lakers officially qualified for the playoffs tonight, even before the tip-off of their game against the Cavaliers at home, after the Suns lost 111-115 to the Magic. But their 127-113 win over the Cavaliers has put a cherry on the cake for a special night for several team members.
This win marked the 1,229th win in 1,909 career games for LeBron James, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most wins in games played combined in the regular season and the playoffs. Just another milestone in a career filled with records for the Lakers’ 41-year-old veteran superstar.
He contributed everywhere in the game with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. James shot 4-8 from the field (50.0 FG%) and 1-3 from the three-point line (33.3 3P%).
Here is the list of the top 10 most successful players in the NBA’s history (total wins combined for regular season and playoffs).
1. LeBron James: 1,229 wins
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 1,228 wins
3. Tim Duncan: 1,158 wins
4. Robert Parish: 1,121 wins
5. Karl Malone: 1,050 wins
6. John Stockton: 1,042 wins
7. Tony Parker: 1,029 wins
8. Derek Fischer: 1,014 wins
9. Dirk Nowitzki: 985 wins
10. Kobe Bryant: 971 wins
At age 41, James’ longevity is a wonder to watch. But beyond the record-breaking night, this victory is truly credited to the Lakers’ Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, who dropped yet another 40-point game, making it his eighth in the last 18 games.
Luka Doncic Overshadows LeBron James For His Own Special Night
Doncic finished the game with 42 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds while going 13-26 from the floor (50.0 FG%) and 6-13 from beyond the arc (46.1 3P%). He surpassed Kobe Bryant (578 points) and became the only Lakers player in history to score 600 points in a single month.
The only player to have accomplished that since the NBA-ABA merger is Michael Jordan, who scored 676 points in March 1987.
The 27-year-old Slovenian superstar leads the league in 30 and 40-point games this season. He put up his 44th 30-point game tonight for this season, making it the sixth-most 30-point games in the Lakers’ franchise history.
He has had 30-point nights over the last 13 consecutive fixtures, making this the longest streak in his career and fourth-longest in Lakers’ history. This also marks the night when he reaches the 15,000-point milestone for his career total.
In terms of 40-point games, he is now tied with Elgin Baylor for the sixth-most in franchise history for a single season.
JJ Redick Humbly Reacts To Reaching His Own Milestone
JJ Redick also had a special night as he became the first Lakers head coach since Phil Jackson (2010-11) to have consecutive 50-win seasons. He became the fourth head coach in Lakers history and the 16th in the NBA’s history to have consecutive 50-win seasons in his first two seasons as head coach.
With his 100th regular season win, he joined Pat Riley, Paul Westhead, and Butch van Breda Kolff as the only head coaches in the Lakers’ history to do so in their inaugural two seasons.
Following the game, Redick spoke to the media and addressed this accomplishment with a modest and humble response.
“Don’t deserve to be mentioned along with Phil or Pat or any of those guys. I’ve got a lot left to accomplish for sure,” said Redick in the postgame press conference.
“I think both teams, and I’ve had the same staff for most of both years, we are resilient and resolved, and a part of that is what I talked about pregame, which is just not being willing to quit on a problem that sometimes seems unsolvable. And then the resolve to just want to win all the time. We have competitive guys in our locker room, I’ve got some sick f–ks in the coaching staff.”
Rui Hachimura also reached a milestone of 5000 career points tonight. He ended up with 14 points, one rebound, and one block while shooting 6-8 from the field (75.0 FG%) and 2-3 from beyond the arc (66.6 3P%).
The Lakers have now improved to 50-26 with a four-game winning streak and six games left in the season. They are now two games ahead of the Nuggets and look set to clinch the third seed in the West.
They are now headed to Oklahoma for a game against the Thunder on Thursday night. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers can keep up their momentum against the defending champions.
