LeBron James moves past Jason Kidd for 3rd in NBA's career assist list, 76ers top Pacers 131-124

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James had 11 assists and moved into third on the NBA's career list, and he added 15 points and six rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Indiana Pacers 131-124 on Sunday.

James, who turns 42 next month, dished one to VJ Edgecombe in the fourth quarter for assist 12,092 to pass Jason Kidd on the career list. John Stockton and Chris Paul are 1-2 in NBA history.

Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and Tyrese Maxey added 27 for the Sixers.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 31 points and former Sixer Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16.

James continued an early habit in his first season with the Sixers in picking his spot to take control of a game.

This one came in the third quarter, right after Sixers fans went wild when seldom-used 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall checked into the game. James immediately went to work picking apart the Pacers and scored eight straight points to give them an 82-73 lead.

Fall was a factor.

Signed ahead of training camp for backcourt depth, Fall almost immediately strained his left hip and missed the preseason. Coach Nick Nurse said ahead of Sunday's game he still thought the fan-favorite Fall could help the Sixers, but that he had “see him out there, some form,” and that “I might just have to take that leap.”

Fall helped in that pivotal third quarter stretch for James. Fall grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a possession where James would sink two from the free-throw line. James then added a near-uncontested driving layup because of a perfect screen from Fall. James added a 20-footer and a dunk during the run.

Fall grabbed two offensive rebounds in 3 minutes. His final stat line with no points in 5 minutes might be easy to overlook — unlike the towering Fall — but he had a major impact in pushing the Sixers to 11-3.

Joel Embiid sat out for the Sixers in the first set of back-to-back games. A two-time NBA scoring champion, Embiid should return to the lineup Monday at Brooklyn. James is another veteran who generally does not play in back-to-back games and seemed poised to take his turn sitting out against the Nets.

James took a hard foul when he drove the lane against Oubre in the first quarter. James clutched his left wrist for a moment but appeared to show no ill-effects the rest of the game.

Pacers host Houston on Wednesday.

76ers play Monday night at Brooklyn.

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, right, dunks the ball against Indiana Pacers' Jalen Slawson, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Jaylen Brown, right, goes up for the shot against Indiana Pacers' Ivica Zubac, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Jaylen Brown, left, makes his move against Indiana Pacers' Quenton Jackson, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' LeBron James reacts to the foul by Indiana Pacers' Kelly Oubre Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Indiana Pacers' Kelly Oubre Jr., center right, goes up for the shot against Philadelphia 76ers' LeBron James, left, and Anfernee Simons, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

PUCALLPA, Peru (AP) — From deep in the Peruvian rainforest, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday demanded justice for environmental defenders killed for protecting the Amazon and fully backed efforts by Indigenous peoples to stop their lands from being ravaged by logging and illegal exploitation.

On the penultimate day of his South American odyssey, Leo traveled to the northeastern Peruvian Amazon city of Pucallpa and channelled one of Pope Francis’ core teachings that links care for the most vulnerable with care for God’s creation.

“The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are inseparable,” Leo told Indigenous representatives and missionaries gathered along the Ucayali River.

He said he came to Pucallpa to support them in their search for justice and peace and referred to what environmental groups estimate have been 57 murders of environmental defenders between 2010-2024.

“The blood of these brothers cries out to God and demands justice,” Leo said to applause from the crowd.

In addition to the decades-long problem of deforestation, illegal gold mining has become an increasingly lucrative business in the Amazon, devastating forests and polluting rivers. Miners use makeshift suction dredges and mercury, a toxic metal, to extract gold.

Raphael Hoetmer, Western Amazon program director at Amazon Watch, said wars and conflicts around the world have contributed to driving up the price of gold, increasing demand that in turn is resulting in more extraction from the Amazon.

“It’s causing pollution, health issues, and environmental degradation,” he said.

Illegal mining also drives deforestation and encroaches on Indigenous territories, threatening ancestral lands and exposing communities to violence and organized crime.

Leo addressed the combination of threats in one of his most forceful speeches to date, drawing on his years of experience as a Peruvian bishop and Francis’ constant preaching about the environment and the plight of Indigenous groups.

He demanded a different model of economic development that respects the Earth and the Indigenous who care for it rather than the “irresponsible exploitation” by outside actors.

“You know well the damage caused by indiscriminate deforestation and the pollution of rivers and other waters through illegal mining and oil spills," he said. “These are not isolated accidents, but the consequences of the irresponsible exploitation of natural resources, which undermines the very existence of communities.”

In Peru, most murders of environmental defenders go unpunished; only a few have resulted in convictions. In 2025, the Peruvian courts upheld a 28-year prison sentence for four timber merchants for the murder of four Indigenous people who opposed logging, following a trial that lasted a decade.

The most recent conviction came in the case of Kichwa leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado, who was murdered in 2023 when he was ambushed by hitmen on a river in the San Martín region, the Amazonian territory he was defending.

In August, a court sentenced four people to up to 35 years in prison. The court found that Inuma had filed a complaint against the defendants to prevent deforestation and other crimes such as drug trafficking, and that those convicted plotted his death because he had spoken out against the crimes.

Leo also referred to a notorious rise in sexual violence against Indigenous Awajún and Wampis schoolgirls in Condorcanqui province in the northern Amazon, and blasted the “complicity,” “impunity” and “corruption” surrounding them.

The Awajún and Wampis Women’s Council, or Comuawuy, has recorded 370 cases of sexual violence in the province between January and July alone.

Following the women’s persistent demands for justice, specialized prosecutors’ offices were created, and the government launched a prevention plan. In January, the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations announced a 32-year prison sentence for a man accused of sexual violence against a 14-year-old girl.

Leo said the church was “deeply concerned” by the suffering endured by the victims and called for healing, consolation and reparation.

“Such abuse leaves deep wounds, often compounded by complicity and impunity,” he said. “Corruption and arbitrary practices undermine the trust in the basic goodness of others.”

Leo’s last full day in Peru was also his most ambitious, criss-crossing the nation to minister to communities high in the Andes mountains before he arrived in Pucallpa in the rainforest.

His first stop was the mountain city of Cusco, the former capital of the Inca empire. There, Leo praised the traditional expression of popular piety, such as processions and religious festivals, as effective ways of forging community and transmitting the faith, especially to young people.

Huge crowds lined Cusco’s cobblestoned streets and packed its central Plaza de Armas, an imposing square decorated with a blend of Inca and Spanish colonial buildings. Many people wore the traditional Andean hats and colorful wool vests typical of the region, while others wore plastic ponchos to guard against a drizzling morning rain.

“It is all worth it,” said Margarida Salomon, 63, who said she came from Sucre in Bolivia to see the pontiff, spending about $500 to take a bus, sleep in a tent and eat Peruvian food from stalls. “I am still getting to know this pope, but the fact he is here in the Andes means a lot.”

The visit to Cusco, 3,400 meters (more than 11,000 feet) above sea level, tested Leo’s stamina as he continues recovering from lung cancer surgery last month. Leo sat in the chair of his popemobile during part of the ride around Cusco, but it wasn’t clear if that was to preserve his energy or to steady himself on the uneven streets.

In general, the 71-year-old Leo has seemed unfazed by the toll of the three-nation South American trip, the longest of his pontificate. While others traveling on the papal plane have fallen ill, Leo has shown no sign of weakness or fatigue since the trip began Nov. 6, and in fact seemed energized, especially from the days spent in his former diocese of Chiclayo seeing old friends.

The Rev. Peter Hughes, an 84-year-old Irish priest who has lived in Peru for more than six decades, said Leo’s itinerary reflected the church’s concern for the poor.

“In Latin American terms, the Indigenous peoples, or what is left of them, are the most important collective representing the truly poor,” he said. “That is what makes leaders like Pope Francis and Pope Leo speak the language of the Gospel in very human terms, putting a premium on justice and peace.

"In the Christian sense of justice, the most important people are the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice,” he said.

Suarez reported from Lima, Peru; Savarese from Cusco, Peru.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A woman waits for Pope Leo XIV's arrival to a meeting with missionaries and representatives of the Amazonian peoples at Malecón Puerto Callao in Pucallpa, Peru, on the tenth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV waves during a meeting with missionaries and representatives of the Amazonian peoples at Malecón Puerto Callao in Pucallpa, Peru, on the tenth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV arrives for a meeting with the faithful and representatives of popular devotion at Saqsaywaman National Archaeological Park in Cusco, Peru, on the tenth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Nuns cheer during the Angelus prayer with Pope Leo XIV in the square in front of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cusco, Peru, on the tenth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A woman smiles ahead of Pope Leo XIV's meeting with missionaries and representatives of Amazonian Indigenous communities in Pucallpa, Peru, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Children present an offering to Pope Leo XIV outside the cathedral in Cusco, Peru, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Sotomayor)

Nuns cheer during the Angelus prayer with Pope Leo XIV in the square in front of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cusco, Peru, on the tenth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People aboard a pickup truck transporting a statue of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo lift a streamer overhead to allow the religious figure to pass beneath it, ahead of a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at a shrine dedicated to the saint in Zaña, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Pope Leo XIV waves as he rides through Cusco, Peru, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026.(AP Photo/Jose Sotomayor)

Women wait to welcome Pope Leo XIV ahead of his meeting with the Catholic community in Zaña, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A girl wearing a papal hat walks out of a church a day before Pope Leo XIV's visit to Cusco, Peru, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Pope Leo XIV attends a meeting with the Catholic community on the occasion of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo at the Shrine of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Zana, Peru, on the ninth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV watches dancers at the end of a meeting with the Catholic community on the occasion of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo at the Shrine of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Zana, Peru, on the ninth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV arrives for a meeting with the Catholic community on the occasion of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo at the Shrine of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Zana, Peru, on the ninth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV watches dancers at the end of a meeting with the Catholic community on the occasion of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo at the Shrine of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Zana, Peru, on the ninth day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)