LeBron passes Kareem on all‑time NBA playoff scoring list
- LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 112-108 in overtime in Game 3 on April 24, and the win pushed Los Angeles to a 3-0 first-round lead. - James finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, including a tying three-pointer with 13.6 seconds left after Houston led by six with 25.4 seconds remaining. - The Lakers became the first team in the 2026 playoffs to go up 3-0, a margin no NBA team has ever erased in a series. (nba.com)
LeBron James’ latest playoff milestone came inside a comeback: 29 points, a tying three late in regulation, and a 112-108 Lakers overtime win over Houston in Game 3 on April 24. (nba.com) (espn.com) The Lakers trailed 101-95 with 25.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter before Marcus Smart drew a three-shot foul, Reed Sheppard turned the ball over, and James buried a game-tying three with 13.6 seconds remaining. (nba.com) Los Angeles then closed out overtime for a 112-108 win and a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series, with Smart scoring eight of the Lakers’ 11 overtime points. (nba.com) (espn.com) James’ box score was 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block in 45 minutes at age 41. NBA.com also logged the night as another father-son first when he assisted Bronny James on a second-quarter layup. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The playoff scoring list itself is not close at the top anymore. NBA Stats lists James first all-time in postseason points with 8,336, ahead of Michael Jordan at 5,987 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 5,762. (nba.com) That means the bigger significance of this week’s Kareem-related milestones is about age and endurance, not the overall playoff points lead. Earlier in the series, James’ 28-point Game 2 was cited by the league as the most points in a playoff game by a player age 41 or older, passing Abdul-Jabbar’s 22 at age 42 in 1989. (aljazeera.com) (youtube.com) The series context is just as stark. NBA.com said no team in league history has come back from a 3-0 deficit, and its live playoff recap put the all-time record for teams leading 3-0 at 159-0. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Houston was also missing Kevin Durant in Game 3 because of a sprained left ankle, even as Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson each scored at least 24 points. (nba.com) So the night landed two ways at once: James added another line to a postseason résumé that already stands alone, and the Lakers moved to within one win of the Western Conference semifinals. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)
