LeBron On Ovation In Philly: 'It Was Very Special'
PHILADELPHIA (AP/CBS) — LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 25,000 career points, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 107-100 on Monday night.
Unexpectedly, James received a standing ovation from the Philly crowd.
"It's pretty cool," James said of the ovation after the game. "I haven't really had the opportunity to categorize the list of things I've done. To be able to do it in winning fashion and to do it with this group of guys, in a building that loves the game of basketball.
"Obviously, they're Sixers fans to death, but they know and respect the game of basketball," James continued. "To get a standing ovation for reaching that milestone, it was very special."
James had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and rallied the Cavs in the second half against a scrappy Philly team that had built a 15-point lead. James and the rest of the Eastern Conference champions had enough to push back the undermanned Sixers.
James scored the milestone basket on a dunk with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter. The 30-year-old James became the fifth active player with 25,000 points and the 20th overall. He joined Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce of the Clippers.
For the Sixers, rookie center Jahlil Okafor had 24 points and three rebounds. Okafor became just the fifth Sixers player (Jerry Stackhouse, Allen Iverson, Speedy Claxton and Michael Carter-Williams) to score at least 20 points in two of their first three games.
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