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The Los Angeles Lakers set a Christmas Day record on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t the good kind.

After taking an 11-point lead into halftime, the Lakers allowed 51 third-quarter points to the Dallas Mavericks, a new high mark for any December 25 game in NBA history, and scored just 21 themselves. They outscored the Mavs in the fourth but not by nearly enough and took a 124-115 loss, their third straight defeat.

LeBron James had another solid outing, bucketing 13 of 23 shots from the floor and all 12 of his attempts from the foul line en route to a game-high 38 points. But he didn’t get much help from his fellow starters, who combined for just 32 points.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, got 110 points from their starting five. Luka Doncic led the way with 32 and fell just one assist and one rebound shy of a triple-double. Christian Wood added 30 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Tim Hardway Jr. chipped in with 26 points and six boards.

How close is LeBron James to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record after the Lakers’ loss to the Mavericks?

LeBron James during a Lakers-Mavericks matchup on Christmas Day 2022
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball as Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks defends in the first half at American Airlines Center on December 25, 2022 | Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

With his 38-point effort on Sunday, LeBron James now has 37,758 regular-season points for his career, putting him just 629 behind Kareem-Abdul Jabbar‘s all-time NBA record of 38,387.

If LeBron stays healthy and maintains his season scoring average of 27.8 points per game moving forward, he’ll surpass Kareem on Thursday, February 9, when the Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks, a game that will air on TNT.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Luke Norris

Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting.

Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes.

In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke’s work has appeared on  The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.