With the euphoria surrounding LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record settling after a historic Wednesday, the LA Lakers will be back to work for second consecutive home game against Milwaukee Bucks.
The NBA's all-time scoring record was re-written by James against Oklahoma City when he went past the tally of fellow legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Lakers' focus will now return to their chase for the playoffs, especially having lost 130-133 to Oklahoma in the last game.
"It sucks that we didn't get the win on a night like this but there are a lot of things to pull from it," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. "I'm happy that Bron was able to accomplish what he accomplished and now we can just move on and submerge ourselves into how we try to get better and win enough games to be situated into the postseason."
James needed 36 points to set the record and ended up with 38. But fellow star Anthony Davis had just 13 points on nine shot attempts in 31 minutes. The Lakers are just 3-4 since Davis returned from a foot injury and are in 13th place in the 15-team Western Conference.
At issue now is James' sore right foot, which flared up on him late in Tuesday's game. It is merely the latest injury wrinkle for the Lakers. Afterward, though, James was just trying to wrap his mind around becoming the greatest scorer of all time.
"I don't think it has hit," James said. "I had a moment obviously when it happened, and embracing that moment and seeing my family and my friends and people that's been around me since I started this journey, even before the NBA. So definitely a great moment right there, very emotional just being a kid from a small town in Ohio. ... But I don't think it's really hit me on what just transpired."
The Bucks enter Wednesday's game with a big-time scorer of their own. Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-best 32.2 points per game, which is third best in the NBA.
The Bucks are more at peace with the standings than the Lakers, sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the NBA-best Boston Celtics entering Tuesday's slate. Milwaukee is on an eight-game winning streak, while also winning 10 of its last 11.
The Bucks enter well rested after a 127-108 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday as Antetokounmpo had 24 points in 23 minutes. Antetokounmpo was two assists short of a triple-double as he played through right knee soreness. Brook Lopez passed the 15,000-point mark for his career.
Revenge will be on Bucks' mind, having lost 133-129 to the Lakers at home on December 2.
(With agency inputs)
