LeBron James leads Lakers to a big comeback against Blazers with 37 points, now 224 shy of the all-time record

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The Lakers rebounded from a 25-point halftime deficit to beat the Blazers on Sunday, marking the NBA’s biggest comeback of the second half of this season and the biggest comeback of the second half of LeBron James’ regular-season career reached.

James was no small part of the rally. He had 17 of his 37 points in the third quarter, by the time the Lakers had reduced that 25-point deficit to just five.

The 37 points puts James even closer to becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a distinction currently held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You can see where James’ pursuit of Jabbar’s goal stands below.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar	38,387	___
Lebron James	38,164	224

For the season, James is averaging 29.8 points per game. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll only need eight games to overtake Abdul-Jabbar. If James doesn’t sit out games until then and the pace is maintained, the record would be set on Feb. 7 at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers host the Bucks on Feb. 9 and travel to the Warriors on Feb. 11, which could become record-breaking dates if LeBron hosts games over the next three weeks.

• LeBron’s last three games: 37 in Portland; 23 against Memphis, 32 against Sacramento
• LeBron’s next three games: vs. Clippers (January 24); vs. San Antonio (January 25); in Boston (January 28)

“I look forward to seeing it. I don’t see records as personal achievements, but rather as human achievements.” said Adbul-Jabbar ahead of the 2021-22 season over LeBron potentially breaking his record. “If one person can do something that has never been done before, it means we all have a chance to do it. It is a source of hope and inspiration. Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954. Since then, not only have 1,400 runners been beaten back then, but the new record is 17 seconds shy. We all win when a record is broken, and if LeBron breaks mine, I’ll be right there to cheer him on.

This post will be updated after each game until LeBron is at the top of the all-time scorer list.