LOS ANGELES & PHILADELPHIA — Wednesday night’s NBA slate featured standout performances, historic milestones, and hard-fought victories for top conference contenders, highlighted by landmark achievements from LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
In Philadelphia, the Eastern Conference-leading 76ers improved to 8-1 with a 112-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Jaylen Brown led the charge with a season-high 30 points and sealed the win with a crucial block on Cade Cunningham’s 3-point attempt with 37 seconds remaining.
Joel Embiid contributed 26 points and 15 rebounds, while LeBron James added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.
The game marked a major milestone for the 41-year-old James, who became the first player in NBA history to reach 16,000 career field goals after hitting a left-handed runner in the second quarter. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 15,837 made shots.
Tyrese Maxey chipped in 19 points for Philadelphia, snapping a streak of scoring at least 26 points in every prior game this season.
For Detroit, which slipped to 6-2, Duncan Robinson scored 27 points, and Cade Cunningham finished with 26 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic continued his historic scoring tear for the Los Angeles Lakers, putting up 40 points in a 116-103 win over the Sacramento Kings. Doncic has now scored at least 35 points in six straight games. Having totaled 308 points through his first eight games of the season, he became the first player to top the 300-point mark in that span since Michael Jordan in 1988-89.
Austin Reaves added 21 points for the Lakers, who improved to 7-2. The Kings fell to 1-7, led by rookie Darius Acuff Jr.’s 22 points and 12 assists.
In another matchup, the Portland Trail Blazers pushed their winning streak to five games with a 132-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Damian Lillard scored 25 points, Donovan Clingan added 24, and Deni Avdija recorded 21 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds for Portland (6-1). Devin Booker led the Suns (1-5) with 33 points.