LeBron zooms in on 40,000 scoring feat

MANILA, Philippines -- LeBron James is now just nine points away from a new milestone, as he chases 40,000 career points in the NBA.

James helped the Los Angeles Lakers secure a 134-131 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday (Manila time).

He scored 31 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed four rebounds in the victory.

With his performance, he now has 39,991 points.

Just over a year ago, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record of 38,387, which seemed untouchable for the longest time.

The Lakers led by seven points, 104-97, early on in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by D’Angelo Russell.

The Lakers kept a six-point lead, 118-112, with a layup by James with about 5:20 remaining.

The cellar-dwelling Wizards then gained the lead with back-to-back shots by Kyle Kuzma to go up 123-120.

The Lakers made consecutive clutch shots to regain the upper hand, 124-123, with about a minute remaining.

Jordan Poole answered with a 3-pointer to grab a 126-124 cushion.

Austin Reaves then tied the game, 126-all, with a bankshot, taking the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Washington just ran out of gas. With the Wizards leading by three, 131-128, with a pair of free throws by Kuzma, the Lakers ended the game with a 6-0 run.

A Kuzma trey with eight seconds remaining missed, securing the deal.

Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 40 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Russell chipped in 22 markers.

Poole had 34 points off the bench for the Wizards. Marvin Bagley III added 23 markers.

The Lakers are now holding a 33-28 record. 

The Wizards lost their 13th straight game and dropped to 9-50.

James could secure the 40,000 points feat when the Lakers face the Denver Nuggets on Sunday (Manila time.)