The Los Angeles Lakers remained undefeated in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament on Tuesday by outlasting the Phoenix Suns, 106-103, in the quarterfinal round. They move on to a semifinal against the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas on Thursday.
LeBron James led the way on Tuesday with 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. While it wasn’t an efficient night for Anthony Davis, he still filled up the stat sheet with 27 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. He had nine of L.A.’s 21 offensive rebounds, and he helped his team score 19 second-chance points.
Along the way, the big man scored his 16,321st point to move past Lakers Hall of Fame forward James Worthy into 109th place on the NBA’s all-time career scoring list.
Anthony Davis reached 16,321 career points to pass James Worthy for 109th all-time with 2 free throws at the 3:32 mark of the 3rd Q tonight. https://t.co/BfE8DjGx5i
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 6, 2023
Worthy was a very potent scorer for the dynastic Showtime Lakers in the 1980s. He was one of the greatest finishers at the hoop of all time, especially in transition, and he had one of the greatest low-post games the league had seen.
Worthy averaged 17.6 points a game in the regular season, but he increased that to 21.1 points a game in the playoffs, and he had a number of big scoring outings in his six trips to the NBA Finals. His tendency to play his best under pressure earned him the nickname “Big Game James,” not to mention the 1988 NBA Finals MVP award after putting up 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 7 of that series.
