Luka Doncic delivered a masterclass with 42 points and 12 assists, while LeBron James added 14 points in his record 1,229th career win, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
The Lakers, now 50-26, secured their 13th win in 14 games and had already locked up a playoff berth and the Pacific Division crown earlier in the night after the Phoenix Suns lost.
Sitting third in the Western Conference, Los Angeles holds a two-game cushion over the Denver Nuggets as the postseason picture sharpens.
James surpassed Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most combined regular-season and playoff wins. The all-time scoring leader added five rebounds and six assists against the Cavaliers, where he spent 11 seasons over two stints.
MVP candidate Doncic returned from an automatic one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul. He became the third-youngest player to reach 15,000 career points at 27 years, 31 days. James holds the mark at 25 years, 79 days.
Jarrett Allen scored 18 points for Cleveland (47-29), which remained one game behind the third-place New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference. James Harden had 17 points, and Donovan Mitchell added 10 points and six assists.
The Cavaliers, whose magic number to make the playoffs is one, have won six of their last eight games and are 16-6 with Harden in the lineup.
DeAndre Ayton had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Austin Reaves scored 19 for Los Angeles, which blew the game open by scoring 45 points in the third quarter to take a 110-83 lead. It was the 100th victory for coach J.J. Redick.
The Lakers carried a 65-53 lead into halftime, fueled by 20 points and seven assists from Doncic and 11 points and six rebounds from Ayton. Allen had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, but Mitchell scored only two for the Cavaliers.
Doncic wasted no time getting back in rhythm, taking 10 shots and scoring 14 points while playing the entire first quarter. Cleveland held a 34-32 lead behind nine points from Harden and eight points with three rebounds from Allen.
Los Angeles guard Marcus Smart (right ankle bruise) missed his fourth game in a row, while the Cavaliers were without swingman Sam Merrill (left hamstring soreness).
Cleveland forwards Jaylon Tyson (left great toe bruise) and Dean Wade (right ankle sprain) did not travel with the team on its three-game trip.
