James Pours in 43 as Lakers Hold Off Hornets, 121–115

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James drives to the basket past Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers on in Charlotte, on Jan. 2, 2023. Chris Carlson/AP Photo

CHARLOTTE—LeBron James scored 43 points to pull within 500 of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring record, and the Los Angeles Lakers avenged last month’s home loss to the Charlotte Hornets with a 121–115 victory Monday night, Jan. 2.

James had two dunks on alley-oops, including a high-flying reverse slam off a feed from Dennis Schroder, to push his career total to 37,903 points, leaving him 484 behind Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38,387.