LeBron leaps Kareem again as L.A. gets on track

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arsenic the all-time leader successful regular-season minutes played connected Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick congratulated the 39-year-old prima successful the locker room successful beforehand of the team.

The reception from his teammates pursuing L.A.'s 113-100 triumph complete the Sacramento Kings was a small looser.

"They told maine I'm aged arsenic hellhole and each that," James said aft logging 34 minutes to bring his profession full to 57,471, moving Abdul-Jabbar to No. 2 pinch 57,446.

James, a 22-year veteran, is the oldest progressive subordinate successful the convention and has yet shown signs of aging this season, precocious taking an eight-day absence from the squad to rehabilitate a near ft injury.

However, he has turned successful 2 effective performances since coming backmost to the lineup, and the Lakers won some games against teams they're huddled together pinch successful the Western Conference standings successful the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento. He had 19 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds against the Kings aft putting up 18, 8 and 8 against the Grizzlies.

"His sound is what we missed the 2 games that he was retired -- connected some ends of the floor," said Anthony Davis, who vanished pinch 21 points and play highs successful rebounds (18) and blocks (6). "I mean, he's a natural-born leader erstwhile it comes to the game, and erstwhile it's clip wherever it mightiness look chaotic, he's capable to benignant of return power and conscionable get america into thing and we effort to execute arsenic bully arsenic possible."

It was not excessively agelong agone that the full Lakers play was starting to consciousness chaotic, pinch L.A. dropping 7 retired of 9 games and past James leaving the lineup for 2 games to rest.

But the Lakers person bounced backmost pinch wins successful 3 retired of their past 4 games, pinch their defense being a spot alternatively than a weakness arsenic it had been during the losing streak.

"For the group, I really felt for illustration this mightiness beryllium my favourite triumph we've had each season," Redick said.

Added Davis: "We're playing hopeless - particularly connected the protect end. And it's showing."

Austin Reaves led L.A. successful scoring pinch 25 points, and 3 different players too James and Davis topped double-digit scoring: D'Angelo Russell had 16, Gabe Vincent had 12 points and Rui Hachimura had 10 points.

And James was capable to bask the minutes feat coming afloat circle, backmost successful the aforesaid metropolis wherever he played his first NBA regular-season crippled successful 2003.

"It's a beautiful cool honor, obviously, anytime I'm linked pinch immoderate of the greats that person ever played this game," James said. "I've been disposable to my teammates. I've been capable to do this astatine a precocious level complete 2 decades. And to proceed to put myself successful grounds books successful this crippled of hoops that I emotion truthful overmuch and successful the champion convention successful the world is beautiful cool and it's very humbling."

L.A. will enactment successful Sacramento to decorativeness disconnected the two-game group connected Saturday, but James said he was not fresh to look up to that crippled conscionable yet.

"I conscionable group the all-time-leading [mark] successful minutes, I americium not reasoning astir this adjacent crippled yet," he said. "I'm astir to get to this [hotel] room, portion immoderate wine, play immoderate Madden and chill the f--- out."