LeBron James breaks the NBA career field goals record in the Lakers' 120-113 loss to the Nuggets

DENVER (AP) — LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for career field goals in the Los Angeles Lakers' 120-113 loss to Denver on Thursday night, with the Nuggets getting 28 points each from All-Stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

James injured his left elbow on a layup that pulled Los Angeles to 110-106 with four minutes to go and left the game. He returned with 2:05 left and the Lakers trailing by a point. The Lakers, however, never were able to take the lead as the Nuggets finished off a crucial wire-to-wire win.

James finished with 16 points to go with Luka Doncic's 27.

Jokic had his 23rd triple-double of the season with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists to offset nine turnovers and help the Nuggets (39-24) stay a step ahead of the streaking Lakers (37-25) in the logjammed Western Conference.

Aside from his record-breaking bucket in the first quarter — the 15,838th field goal of his 23-year career — James had a couple of sensational baskets: a corkscrew reverse fastbreak layup and an off-balance, 18-foot turnaround jumper that pulled the Lakers to 64-54 at halftime.

And he had three straight jaw-dropping assists as the Lakers staged a fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short.

The Nuggets jumped out to a 16-3 lead and led by 15 points, but turnovers kept the Lakers within striking distance all night.

Murray's 20 first-half points helped the short-handed and undersized Nuggets stay in control. Forward Aaron Gordon worked out on the court before the game but was again in street clothes by game time. Sidelined since Jan. 23 by a pulled hamstring, Gordon is expected to return to action Friday night against the Knicks.

Denver's other defensive stalwart, guard Peyton Watson, has also been out with a pulled hamstring and the Nuggets were also without forwards Cam Johnson (sprained right ankle) and Spencer Jones (strained right shoulder).

Lakers center Deandre Ayton left in the first half with a knee injury and didn't return.

Doncic picked up his 15th technical foul of the season. He'll face an automatic one-game suspension if he gets another.

Lakers: Host Indiana on Friday night.

Nuggets: Host New York on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, shoots a field goal to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 15,837 to become the NBA's all-time leader in field goals as Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, fights for control of a rebound with Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton in the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić, left, reacts after getting hit in the face by the ball while fighting for control with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić as Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, right, looks on in the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dunks the ball for a basket to tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 15,837 field goal in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, passes the ball as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) — LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals in NBA history but his night ended with a disheartening loss and a sore left elbow.

James hit a turnaround 12-foot jumper over Zeke Nnaji with 12 seconds left in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 120-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night to surpass Abdul-Jabbar's mark.

“My name being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling and pretty cool,” James said. “It's a pretty cool thing. I grew up watching and reading, idolizing a lot of the greats. And if I ever was able to be a part of the NBA, I wanted to be in position where I could be named with some of the greats by doing something right."

The record-breaking bucket gave James 15,838 career field goals in his unprecedented 23rd NBA season. Abdul-Jabbar had 15,837 baskets when the skyhook-wielding big man ended his 20-year career in 1989 as the NBA's career scoring leader. Karl Malone is a distant third with 13,528 field goals.

James finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting but it was his all-round game that kept the Lakers close after the Nuggets jumped out to a 16-3 lead in their wire-to-wire win. James had a team-high eight assists, three steals and a big block.

“He's been a complete player for 23 years,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. “... He's just a phenomenal basketball player.”

Nikola Jokic concurred, saying, “He's definitely a legendary player.”

James passed Abdul-Jabbar to become the top scorer in NBA history in February 2023. James was already the top scorer in NBA playoff history, and he surpassed 50,000 career points in the regular season and postseason combined a year ago.

James has already attempted more field goals than any NBA player — 31,274 entering Thursday night, including more than 7,500 3-pointers.

Abdul-Jabbar, the low-post virtuoso who made more than 50% of his shots in 19 straight seasons to start his career, attempted only 28,307 field goals — and just 18 of them were 3-pointers after the shot was introduced to the league midway through his career.

James hurt his left elbow on a layup that pulled Los Angeles to 110-106 with four minutes to go and left the game. He and Jokic banged into each other as James scored and James fell to the floor, bracing himself with his right arm but injuring his left. No foul was called and James said the officials told him the contact was “marginal.”

“It's pretty sore right now. It feels like a funny bone situation," said James, who returned with 2:05 left and the Lakers trailing by a point. The Lakers, however, never were able to overcome the Nuggets — or leapfrog them in the standings.

Asked if he was concerned about the severity of the injury, James said, “We'll see what happens over the next couple of days. Hopefully, I wake up tomorrow and it doesn't feel too much worse than it does now — or if it feels better, that would be great.”

So, James wasn't really in the mood to look back over his career and relish making more baskets than anyone who ever played the game.

“I don't know, right now it doesn't hit me at all,” James said. “Obviously, what I feel is my elbow and I feel the loss.

"Obviously, it's a pretty cool feat. But it's hard for me to kind of wrap my head around it and what it looks like. It's something, one, that I've never had a goal to have that record ... but it's a pretty cool feat, it's an unbelievable feat."

Abdul-Jabbar was a career 55.9% shooter, while James has hit 51.6% of his shots.

James tied Abdul-Jabbar's record with his second basket of the game, an alley-oop dunk from Luka Doncic.

Now 41, James regularly sets NBA records for longevity and career achievements — most recently becoming the oldest player to get a triple-double last month.

Before tipoff, Redick compared his superstar to another iconic American virtuoso: the Boss.

“Yeah, I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan, and I would probably say his early albums really, really get me going,” Redick said. “There’s a youthfulness to him, you know, in energy. ‘Nebraska’ is actually my favorite album of all time. And that’s very different from what he had done that far in his career. And then you can kind of see the evolution of him as a singer-songwriter. and then he comes out with the greatest hits. And you’re like, ‘Wow, this is pretty good.’

“And then after that he comes out with ‘The Rising,’ which is one of the most important albums of the 2000s. So, you get to the end and you’re like, ‘Holy man, this guy’s greatest hits are like insane.’ And LeBron’s greatest hits, right? He just keeps adding to them. He just plays and plays and plays and the greatest hits, he’s got a hell of a catalog.”

Even more history awaits James later in March, barring injury — and left elbow now willing: The Lakers' visit to the Nuggets was the 1,606th regular-season game of his career, putting him just five games behind Robert Parish (1,611) for the most in NBA history. James already holds the league's career record for playoff games with 292.

James says he hasn't decided whether to return to the Lakers next season, but he believes he could keep playing at a high level indefinitely. He was selected for the All-Star Game for the 22nd time in his career despite missing 18 games due to injury, precluding him from consideration for the postseason All-NBA teams.

Beacham reported from Los Angeles. AP freelance writer Ashlyn Stapleton contributed.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, goes up for a field goal to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 15,837 to become the NBA's all-time leader in field goals as Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji defendns in the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)