CLEVELAND — Akron native LeBron James was back in Northeast Ohio on Monday night as his Los Angeles Lakers squared off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Cavs and their fans took a moment to honor the four-time NBA MVP during the game after James passed Karl Malone on Saturday in Washington to become the second-leading scorer in NBA history.
The fans rose to their feet and gave James a standing ovation, the Lakers star responded with an affectionate salute to the crowd.
James now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the league's all-time scoring list.
The former Cavaliers star scored 38 points against the Wizards on Saturday night, giving him 36,947 for his career coming into Monday's game in Cleveland. Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his 20 seasons. James has a chance to break that record next year, provided he stays healthy.
During his 11 seasons with the Cavs, James scored a team record 23,119 points. He also is the franchise's career leader in games played, rebounds, assists, steals, points-per-game, and many other categories. He led Cleveland to the 2015-2016 NBA Championship, breaking a 52-year drought of professional sports titles in the city.
More Cavs/LeBron coverage:
- LeBron James passes Karl Malone for 2nd on NBA's all-time scoring list
- Darius Garland scores 24 points, Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit Pistons 113-109
- Joel Embiid has 35 points, 17 rebounds as Philadelphia 76ers hang on to beat Cleveland Cavaliers 118-114
- Evan Mobley scores season-high 30 as Cleveland Cavaliers beat Los Angeles Clippers in OT
