James added seven rebounds and seven assists on Thursday night as he took his overall points tally to 38,325 - putting him within 63 of overhauling Abdul-Jabbar's all-time high of 38,387.

"It's one of the greatest records in sports," 38-year-old James said.

"It's like the home-run record in baseball. It's one of those records that you don't ever see or think will be broken.

"It's a fun thing as a sports person. It was fun watching those guys chasing it."

Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 24 points for Indiana, with Buddy Hield's 17-foot jumper clanking off the rim in the closing seconds as the Pacers went down by a single point in Indianapolis on Thursday.

In Dallas, All-Star Luka Doncic scored 31 points before leaving with a right-heel injury but the Mavericks still handed travel-weary New Orleans their 10th consecutive loss.

The Mavericks - for whom Australian Boomer Josh Green scored 15 points - were up by 27 when Doncic exited with 6:47 remaining in the third.

The lead dropped down to four when Herb Jones hit a layup with 58 seconds left in the game but Dallas rallied to win 111-106.

The Milwaukee Bucks, led by the irrepressible Giannis Antetokounmpo, overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-105 for their sixth consecutive victory.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 of his 54 points in the fourth quarter as he reached the 50 mark for third time in his last 11 games. He also had 18 rebounds.

The Clippers, who failed to capitalise on a couple of Milwaukee turnovers in the closing seconds, lost for the second time in eight games.

In Denver, Jamal Murray scored 33 points and Nikola Jokic had his 17th triple-double of the season, to lead the Western Conference-leading Nuggets past short-handed Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 28 points for the Warriors.

Having been left off the All-Star team, Darius Garland scored 32 points and added 11 assists to carry Cleveland following Donovan Mitchell's ejection, leading the Cavaliers past slumping Memphis.

"(Garland) was brilliant," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

"He knew how important this game was to us and what we needed from him. That's what leaders do."

Mitchell, voted an All-Star starter last week, was tossed in the third quarter for throwing the ball at Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks after the pair tangled under the basket. Brooks also was thrown out.

In Chicago, Ayo Dosunmu matched a season high with 22 points, Coby White scored 20 points and the Bulls overcame shaky outings by DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine to beat Charlotte 114-98.

Dosunmu made nine of 10 shots, and White hit three 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Andre Drummond had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

New York beat Miami 106-104 to pull within a game of Miami for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, the final guaranteed play-off spot.

Australian Associated Press