The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 136-94 drubbing by the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday was the worst loss in LeBron James‘ NBA career.
His worst defeats before Tuesday were two games in which his team lost by 35 points: Jan. 16, 2017, when the Cleveland Cavaliers fell 126-91 to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland; and Nov. 28, 2007, when the Cavaliers lost at the Detroit Pistons 109-74.
On Tuesday, James led the Lakers with 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, shooting 7-of-12 from the field. He passed the 32,000-point mark, becoming the fifth player in league history to do so.
After the Lakers closed to 12-8 early on, Indiana scored five straight, then extended the lead to 28-21 and used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Edmond Sumner to make it 33-26 after one quarter. Aaron Holiday‘s 3 early in the second quarter gave Indiana a 42-28 lead. And when Los Angeles finally cut the deficit to 44-34, the Pacers answered with a 14-4 run.
Indiana led 69-43 at the half and extended the lead to 83-53 on Tyreke Evans‘ 3 with 7:31 left in the third quarter — and the Lakers never got closer than 25 again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.