The game was halted in the absence of 7:23 by the end of the third quarter and the Wells Fargo Center gave a thunderous ovation to LeBron James. The forward of the Lakers became the third highest scorer in the history of the NBA with 33,644 points, which exceeds Kobe Bryant and is only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928). However, the evening ended with another defeat for the leaders of the West (108-91), the third in the last six games.

The tribute of Bryant in his shoes ( Mamba 4 Life ) showed James's deep admiration, which also surpassed this historical record in the hometown of the escort. His 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds were not enough this time against Sixers led by Ben Simmons (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Tobias Harris (29 points).

James's 33,655 points could be added to his 6,911 accumulated in the playoffs, where he played consecutive Eights with the Heat and the Cavaliers between 2011 and 2018. "I respect my brother a lot," Bryant said on Twitter, where he stressed that James continues to carry the "higher and higher" basketball.

Always above 25 points

In his sixteenth season in the NBA, James, 35, averages 25.2 points in 44 games. Since his debut, back in 2003, he has never come down from that 25-point barrier, although he himself did not seem to attach much importance to the achievement and rather was overwhelmed by the warmth of the Sixers fans.

"This has been too much. I can only say that I am here with the Lakers uniform, in the city where he was born," he said. Much more explicit was his technician, Frank Vogel, in defining what was experienced as "a great historical moment for our franchise and for LeBron himself."

Even more complimentary was Brett Brown, coach of the Sixers, shortly before the game. "He does everything with class and despite the success he doesn't seem to blink. He has impeccable character, life and behavior. He may be the best player in basketball history," Brown said.

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