James Harden produced a record-setting performance by recording 32 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-109 win over the Hornets on Tuesday.
A 3-pointer from straight away early in the third quarter gave Harden 16 points and 28,598 in his career, two more than O’Neal’s total.
The 36-year-old moved above Shaquille O’Neal into ninth on the NBA all-time scoring list.
Harden concluded the game with 32 points, giving him 28,614 points.
Along with Harden’s 32 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals, Kawhi Leonard also scored 35 for the Clippers against the Hornets.
It is the third time both Harden and Leonard have scored 30+ in the same game, with the Clippers winning on all three occasions.
Atop the list is the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, who scored 22 points in a loss at Sacramento on Monday to give him 42,623 lifetime points.
Following James are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292), Dirk Nowitzki (31,560) and the Houston Rockets’ Kevin Durant (31,458).
Harden sits 12th on the all-time assists list (8,604), second in all-time 3-pointers made (3,291) and ninth in 3-pointers made per game (2.8). He is also fourth in career turnovers (4,389).
Pascal Siakam scored a go-ahead basket with 6.8 seconds left to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 98-96 victory over the Boston Celtics in Indianapolis.
Siakam produced 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Jay Huff scored 20 points for the Pacers, who have won a season-high three straight games.
Payton Pritchard put up 23 points, White scored 18 and Anfernee Simons contributed 16 for the Celtics, who have dropped three of their last four games. Leading scorer Jaylen Brown (29.5 points per game) sat out due to lower back spams.
Jazz 123, Cavaliers 112
Keyonte George collected 32 points and nine assists and Lauri Markkanen had 28 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Utah rallied past Cleveland, bouncing back from a 55-point loss in its previous game.
George, who made all 12 of his free-throw attempts, poured in 16 points in the third quarter and scored nine in the fourth for the Jazz, who trailed by 10 early in the second half. Utah was manhandled 150-95 by the Charlotte Hornets at home two days earlier.
Darius Garland had 23 points and eight assists and Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points for the Cavaliers, but they combined to make just 14 of 35 shots from the field.
76ers 115, Raptors 102
Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points and visiting Philadelphia defeated Toronto to gain a split of a two-game set.
The 76ers were a different team, playing stronger defense with the return of Joel Embiid and Paul George, who did not suit up when Toronto won 116-115 in overtime on Sunday. Embiid had 27 points and eight rebounds while George scored 15 points.
VJ Edgecombe added 15 points and eight assists to help Philadelphia split the four-game season series.
Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points for the Raptors and Brandon Ingram added 17. Scottie Barnes had 15 points.
Mavericks 113, Nets 105
Cooper Flagg scored 27 points as Dallas defeated visiting Brooklyn.
Naji Marshall paired 22 points with nine assists, while Klay Thompson had 18 points on 6-of-9 3-point shooting as the Mavericks snapped a two-game skid and extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to four.
Michael Porter Jr. returned for the Nets after being rested in Memphis on Sunday and posted 28 points and nine rebounds. Day’Ron Sharpe logged 14 points and 12 boards off the bench.
Kings 124, Lakers 112
DeMar DeRozan registered 32 points and six assists and reserve Malik Monk produced season bests of 26 points and eight assists, leading Sacramento to a solid victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Russell Westbrook added 22 points and seven assists for the Kings, who won for the second straight night following a seven-game losing streak. Monk shot a season-best 7 of 9 from 3-point range as the Kings sank a blistering 65.4% (17 of 26) from long distance.
Luka Doncic recorded 42 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals for the Lakers, who lost their third straight game and fell for the seventh time in 11 contests.
Jordan Miller put up 14 points as the Clippers improved to 10-2 since opening the season with a 6-21 record.
LaMelo Ball produced 25 points and rookie Kon Knueppel added 18 for the Hornets. Moussa Diabate amassed 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Hornets took their sixth loss in nine games.
In 2021, Harden was honored as one of the league’s top 75 players by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
He is also a two-time member of the United States national team, winning gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 FIBA World Cup.
