LeBron passes Wilt for 5th on NBA scoring list

James entered the home game against the Portland Trail Blazers needing 39
points to pass the Hall of Famer. He had 36 before he drove to hit a 12-foot
jumper and was fouled by Jake Layman. By sinking the foul shot, James hiked
his career point total past Chamberlain's 31,419 and boosted the Lakers' lead
to 121-106.

James added five more points to give him a season-high 44 on the night and
31,425 for his career. He just missed recording a triple-double, as he added
10 rebounds and nine assists in a game that Los Angeles won 126-117.

Walking to the locker room while holding the game ball under his left arm,
James said, "I've done something right. I've done something right in my
career, and I give it all to the man above for giving me these God-given
abilities, and I've taken full advantage of it. I give all the credit to my
coaching staff, my teammates all through the 16 years. It's all about hard
work, man."

James, who turns 34 next month, played in his 1,157th career game. His career
scoring average is 22.2 points per game.

Chamberlain, who split his career between the Philadelphia/San Francisco
Warriors, the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers, played in 1,045 games. The
Hall of Famer averaged 30.1 points per game.

The next target for James on the all-time scoring list is Michael Jordan, who
finished with 32,292 points. The top three on the list are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
(38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643).

--Field Level Media