LEBRON JAMES passed Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a contested layup midway through the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

James came into the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Nuggets needing 13 points to surpass Jordan for fourth place on the all-time list.

Five minutes 38 seconds into the second quarter, he managed to force his way to the basket for a layup, giving him 14 points for the game and 32,294 for his career. For good measure, he was fouled on the play.

After a short stoppage to acknowledge the moment, play resumed as the Lakers, clinging to the last shreds of their playoff hopes, tried their best to overcome a huge early deficit at home against a heavily-favored opponent.

The team, led by an unlikely group of bench players, did make a run at Denver, reducing a 17-point deficit at halftime all the way to 2 points with 8:37 left in the fourth quarter. But the Nuggets regained their footing and ran away with a 115-99 victory, spoiling a night in which James contributed 31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, looking far more energized on both ends of the court than he had in recent weeks, and finishing the night with his career point total up to 32,311.

James, who has taken the brunt of the criticism for the Lakers’ failings in a difficult first year in Los Angeles, had acknowledged the pending accomplishment in a tweet shortly before the game.

“I take all accomplishments as they come,” he said. “Any time I’m in the breath with any other greats — and obviously M.J. being the guy that I looked up to my whole life, the guy I admired as a kid — I think it’s going to be pretty cool.”

James and the people around him have not been able to take much joy in his accomplishments. “I haven’t really appreciated anything I’ve been able to accomplish because I’m so engulfed in what’s next,” he said. (SD-Agencies)