LeBron James hits two important milestones, sets a triple-double in a breathtaking OT victory

The presence of "triple-double machine" Russell Westbrook caused this particular index of LeBron James to drop. Up to today's match (February 1) against the New York Knicks, the "king" has never had a triple-double in this 2022-23 season.

However, a special set of stats appeared in the match where the Los Angeles Lakers needed James to shine the most.

Along with 28 points scored to close the gap with legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James added 10 rebounds and 11 assists to take the Lakers to a 127-123 victory over the New York Knicks.

He completed his first triple-double of the season in extra time, pocketing his tenth rebound with a home win. This statistic helps LeBron become the first player to have a triple-double in the 20th season of his career, which is unprecedented in NBA history.

Not only setting the above record, James also achieved another achievement in the match against the New York Knicks. He jumped two places at once on the list of players with the most assists in NBA history, surpassing two legends, Mark Jackson and Steve Nash.

LeBron James is currently the 4th all-time NBA player in assists with 10,338 assists. He is ranked ahead of him by Chris Paul (11,246), Jason Kidd (12,091) and John Stockton (15,806).

Conquering two important milestones in just one match, James' remaining goal will be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record.

Scoring 28 points today, LeBron has a total of 38,299 points. Kareem's record is 38,387 points, so "the king" needs 89 more points to become the player with the most points of all time.

According to experts' predictions, the above milestone will be conquered by the end of this week (meet the Pacers on February 3 and the Pelicans on February 5). If it is later, James could break the record next week (meet the Thunder on February 8 and the Bucks on February 10).

Returning to the dramatic OT match against the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers had a better start with a 10 point lead in the first half. Then the home team played explosively to close the gap, then 8 points back in the second half.

The two sides played tit-for-tat in the third and fourth quarters until the Lakers once again created a score gap, taking a 114-108 lead with more than a minute remaining in the final half thanks to a 3-pointer from LeBron James.

It seemed that the LA team could have ended the game, but they allowed the Knicks to open a 6-0 series of points to bring this match into extra time.

Here the Los Angeles Lakers were the better team and took more chances, thereby winning the final with a score of 129-123.

Besides LeBron James' triple-double, the Lakers had 27 points and 9 rebounds from Anthony Davis. Bigman, born in 1993, played 37 minutes today and was relatively comfortable.

Rui Hachimura (19 points, 9 rebounds), Russell Westbrook (17 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) and Dennis Schroder (12 points, 6 assists) are the remaining three names with over 10 points for the LA Lakers.

On the New York Knicks side, $104 million signing Jalen Brunson leads the team with 37 points, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Julius Randle completed the double-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

In their next outing, the Los Angeles Lakers will extend their long run in the East, facing the Indiana Pacers on Friday, January 3. A day later, the New York Knicks will play at home, hosting the Miami Heat on Saturday morning.