The Los Angeles Lakers ended their brief three-game road trip with a 105-102 win in Minnesota on Friday night, their 18th straight win over the Timberwolves. Los Angeles trailed by a point in the final minute, but Kobe Bryant hit four free throws in the final 16.7 seconds to secure the win for the Lakers.
Bryant scored 34 points in the win, and surpassed yet another milestone in his illustrious career. Bryant, fifth on the all-time NBA scoring list, surpassed the 29,000-point plateau Friday night, and now has scored 29,022 points in his career.
| NBA All-Time Scoring List |
||
| Rank | Player | Points |
| 1 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 |
| 2 | Karl Malone |
36,928 |
| 3 | Michael Jordan |
32,219 |
| 4 | Wilt Chamberlain | 31,419 |
| 5 | Kobe Bryant | 29,022 |
Bryant, who leads the NBA in scoring this season at 28.9 points per game, will likely surpass the 30,000-point barrier early next season. Unless he goes on an absurd scoring binge to close out the season, that is. Kobe needs to average 37.6 points per game over the final 26 games of the season to reach 30,000 points this year.
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