BOSTON, MA - MAY 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates his dunk in the third quarter as Jae Crowder #99 of the Boston Celtics looks on during Game Five of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
LeBron James now leads the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list.
The King finished with 35 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 135-102 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at TD Garden.
James, 32, passed Michael Jordan in postseason scoring when he sank a 3 with around 2:10 left in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 103-71. The 2003 No. 1 overall pick had 5,989 career playoff points (Jordan finished his career with 5,987 playoff points) at that moment in the game, but ended the night with 5,995 points.
James received several congratulations for breaking the record from notable figures around the NBA, including Magic Johnson.
Jordan, 54, had held the record for playoff points for 20 years. He scored his last postseason points at the age of 35 and after 179 games in the Bulls’ Game 6 victory over the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Finals. Jordan played in the NBA from 1984-2003.
“I wanted to be Mike, so for my name to come up in any discussion with Michael Jordan or Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] or all these guys that’s paved the ways for Tristan [Thompson] and Kevin [Love], myself and Swish [JR Smith], it’s a wow factor. I don’t really have anything to say.”
Here are more highlights of James’ scoring in Thursday’s Game 5:
James has scored 30 points or more in 11 of Cleveland’s 13 games this postseason.
The defending NBA champion Cavaliers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the best-of-seven playoffs series to set up their third straight final-round matchup with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, who swept the San Antonio Spurs in four games.
Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 23 points on Thursday.
Cleveland, which won its first-ever NBA title in 2016, also set a league record by winning its 13th straight series closeout opportunity, which includes a 12-1 record this postseason.
The Warriors will host the Cavs for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday at 9 pm EST. The game will air on ABC.
OSTON, MA – MAY 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates his dunk in the third quarter as Jae Crowder #99 of the Boston Celtics looks on during Game Five of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
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