LeBron James becomes first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points

But the historic effort came in a losing cause as Nikola Jokic scored 35 points to rally the Nuggets late for a 124-114 victory over the Lakers, stretching their win streak to six games.

"I'm glad we're playing good," Jokic said. "We're doing the things we want to do. We don't have too many breakdowns. I just like how we're playing the game right now."

James, who just over a year ago overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA's all-time scoring mark, is a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player as well as the league's oldest active player, now in his 21st campaign.

"Just happy for him. It was a hell of an accomplishment," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. "Wish we could have got the win to cap it off.

"But my hat's off to him. Amazing, amazing run that continues to this day. And you know, everyone in our program, everyone within our organization, is extremely excited and happy for him."

Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for becoming the first player ever to score 40,000 career points! pic.twitter.com/gShSHPICS8

After scoring five points in the first quarter, James sank a layup 14 seconds into the second quarter to pull within two of the milestone, then missed a free throw and on the next Laker possession missed a 3-point shot.

James scored the historic basket with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter, banking in a driving layup from the left side of the basket to give the Lakers a 37-32 lead.

The crowd gave James a standing ovation after he made the basket. The ball James used to score the milestone hoop was removed from the game, but with the replacement he added a layup late in the period on the way to the Lakers seizing a 66-58 half-time lead.

James scored his first basket of the game on a fast