NEW YORK (AP) – LeBron James spent the first half showing why he will soon pass Kobe Bryant for third place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
Then this season’s assists leader put his own offense aside to help Anthony Davis find his.
James scored 19 of his 21 points before halftime to quickly cut into Bryant’s shrinking lead over him for the No. 3 scoring spot in NBA history, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 100-92 on Wednesday night.
Davis led the Lakers with 28 points in his second game back after a five-game absence, after the Western Conference leaders were handed their worst loss of the season Monday in his return.
James took only six shots in a quiet second half but Davis scored 17 points after the break to help the Lakers pull away.
“I was more of a facilitator in the second half,” James said. “I wanted to get AD going. He looked a little out of rhythm in the first half. So it was a point of emphasis for me in the third quarter and the fourth quarter to get him going. And that was the difference.”
James has 33,599 points, 44 back of Bryant. That leaves him in good shape to catch the former Lakers star Saturday at Philadelphia, where the five-time NBA champion was born. Los Angeles has a game in between Thursday in Brooklyn.
ZION FALLS SHORT
In New Orleans, Zion Williamson capped his long-awaited NBA debut by scoring 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and stirring the crowd into a frenzy – only to see his team come up short.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 14 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 20 points, and the San Antonio Spurs withstood Williamson’s late surge for a 121-117 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday night.
After spending the past three months rehabilitating from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Williamson struggled to find his shot during the first three quarters, during which he played a little less than 12 minutes. When the fourth quarter began, he had just five points, four rebounds, an assist and four turnovers.
But when Williamson found himself open for a straight-on 3 with about nine minutes to go, he let it fly and it went down, infusing the stadium with energy. He followed that up with a torrid three-minute stretch in which he laid in an alley-oop lob, put back a missed shot with a reverse layup and hit three more 3s.
He finished the surge with a free throw as the jubilant crowd chanted, “M-V-P!”
He was subbed out shortly after with the Pelicans, who trailed by 12 to start the period, down just 109-108. But he did not return to the game, much to the displeasure of fans who chanted, “We want Zion!”
