James triple-double sparks Lakers to overtime victory over Knicks

NEW YORK: LeBron James scored a 28-point triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers dug deep to score a 129-123 overtime win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

James is now just 89 points away from surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer after another superb performance in his 20th season.

The 38-year-old passed two more milestones on Tuesday as he secured the third triple double of his career at Madison Square Garden.

James finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, moving him ahead of both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash into fourth on the all-time rankings for assists.

James’ first triple double of the 2022-2023 campaign also makes him the only player in history to score a triple-double in their 20th season.

The Lakers star was backed by Anthony Davis with 27 points and new signing Rui Hachimura, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Russell Westbrook added 17 points off the bench.

“We played good ball throughout 48 minutes tonight,” James said afterwards.

“We were in tune with the game plan throughout 48 minutes and we did a good job of executing offensively and defensively.”

James, meanwhile, insisted he was not burdened by chasing down Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record — stating bluntly that it was only a “matter of time” before he passed the mark of 38,387 points.

“No, it’s not getting heavier because I’m going to do it,” James said.

“I mean, it’s just a matter of time when I’m going to do it.”

James had looked to have done enough to secure victory for the Lakers after draining a 25-foot three-pointer with 1min 41sec remaining in the fourth to put Los Angeles ahead by 114-108.

But Knicks ace Jalen Brunson, who finished with 37 points, led a late rally to