LeBron James reached another milestone in the NBA as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
James scored 44 points on 13-of-19 shooting while adding 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 126-117 win over the Trail Blazers.
But it was what he did with his 39th point that mattered.
With an and-one in the fourth quarter, James scored the 31,420th point of his career, passing Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place on the all-time scoring list.
Jimmy Butler is a very good player, he just was not good enough to prevent the 76ers from losing in his debut with the team.
Philadelphia fell to the Magic 111-106 as it blew an 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter in the loss. Orlando went on a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter which, according to ESPN, is the second largest unanswered run by a team this season.
Butler finished with 14 points on six-of-12 shooting in the loss and just six points after the first quarter. Joel Embiid tallied his first career triple-double in the game, but he had just 19 points on six-of-20 shooting to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Timberwolves moved to 2-0 since Butler was traded to the 76ers.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds in the first half alone as Minnesota took down the Pelicans 107-100. He finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
E'Twaun Moore had a game-high 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting in the loss for the Pelicans.
George gigantic for Thunder
Thunder forward Paul George scored 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting while adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 128-103 win over the Knicks.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 31 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists, but Marc Gasol finished with 29 points and five rebounds while going six for 12 from three-point range in the Grizzlies' 116-113 win over Milwaukee.
Pistons forward Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds as Detroit got new head coach Dwane Casey some revenge over the Raptors in a 106-104 win. It was Casey's first matchup against the team that fired him this offseason.
It was Reggie Bullock, though, who made Casey's day with a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Crowder poor for Jazz
Jazz forward Jae Crowder went two-of-12 shooting, including one of nine from three-point range, in a lopsided 118-68 loss to the Mavericks.
McGruder delivers for Heat
Heat guard Rodney McGruder looked like a young Dwyane Wade a miraculous layup. Miami defeated the Nets 120-107.
Wednesday's results
Orlando Magic 111-106 Philadelphia 76ers
Washington Wizards 119-95 Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics 111-82 Chicago Bulls
Miami Heat 120-107 Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons 106-104 Toronto Raptors
Memphis Grizzlies 116-113 Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder 128-103 New York Knicks
Dallas Mavericks 118-68 Utah Jazz
Phoenix Suns 116-96 San Antonio Spurs
Los Angeles Lakers 126-117 Portland Trail Blazers
Warriors at Rockets
It is a rematch of the Western Conference finals from last season and both teams come in with odd situations. Stephen Curry is out for Golden State (12-3) while Draymond Green will presumably be back from suspension after he got into it with Kevin Durant in a loss to the Clippers on Monday. The Rockets (6-7), meanwhile, is still trying to find its footing this season, but do come into the game having won five of its last seven games.
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