'AMAZING' JAMES IS FIRST TO 40K POINTS

Lakers star makes history in defeat, but feels he can still play like 10, 20 years ago

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LOS ANGELES - LeBron James became the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on March 2, the 39-year-old superstar scoring nine against defending champions the Denver Nuggets to achieve the milestone.

But James called the historic effort "bittersweet", because it came in a losing cause as Nikola Jokic scored 35 points to rally the Nuggets late on for a 124-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Being the first player to do something, it's pretty cool in this league because you just know the history, you know the grace that has come through the league," James said.

"But the main thing is always the main thing and that's the win. And I hated that had to happen in a defeat, especially versus a team that play extremely well.

"We played some good basketball but wasn't able to close it out, so bittersweet, but I enjoyed every moment though, while on the floor."

James scored a team-high 26 points, 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets stretched their win streak to six games.

"I'm glad we're playing good," Jokic said. "We're doing the things we want to do. We don't have too many breakdowns. I just like how we're playing the game right now?"