LeBron James leaped past Kobe Bryant and into third place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list Thursday night.
With this bucket, LeBron passed Kobe for third all-time in career playoff scoring. Incredible achievement. pic.twitter.com/Glf7Uf4BxP
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) April 21, 2017
James delivered a masterpiece of a performance and engineered a stunning, come-from-behind 119-114 Game 3 victory against the Indiana Pacers: The King finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Cleveland Cavaliers erased a 26-point deficit, and grabbed a 3-0 series chokehold.
Per the AP:
“We knew we had to take (some) punches, but it was a flurry, more than we expected,” James said. “At halftime, I was just looking at the guys and telling them ‘Let’s get a couple stops.'”
He scored 28 in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds and 12 assists, moving past Kobe Bryant and into third on the NBA’s playoff scoring list. Bryant had 5,640 points; James now has 5,669.
James also won his 20th consecutive first-round game, matching a feat achieved by three other former Lakers — Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Win Sunday, and he’ll have the longest first-round winning streak under the current playoff format, which began in 1984.
