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.
Thomas Bryant had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Austin Reaves and Schroder each had 15 points as the Lakers (16–21) finished a 3–2 road trip.
Terry Rozier had 27 points to lead the Hornets, who have lost 13 of their last 16 games. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte….