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Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) celebrates after passing Michael Jordan.(Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)
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MINNEAPOLIS — By Kobe Bryant standards, it was an average offensive night in an unfriendly building a long way from home. But in this contest between two teams headed nowhere, the Los Angeles Lakers star recorded a milestone that had fans on their feet cheering anyway.
With a pair of free throws in the second quarter Sunday evening, Bryant moved up one notch on the all-time NBA scoring ledger, taking over third place and passing Michael Jordan.
Bryant, 36, entered Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves needing nine points to surpass Jordan, who had 32,292 points over 15 seasons. He passed Jordan by making both his free throws after being fouled by T'wolves rookie Zach LaVine on a drive with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left before halftime
As opposed to most other NBA arenas, where Bryant is the object of most fans derision, there was a warm reception for the milestone baskets, including roars from dozens in Lakers jerseys.
"It was different," Bryant said. "I'm so used to being the villain all the time on the road it took a minute to kind of adjust. It felt good to be appreciated like that."
Bryant finished with 26 points as the Lakers won their third in a row 100-94. With the game tied 94-94, Bryant hit a fall-away three-pointer with 1:02 left, putting the Lakers up for good. His free throw with 20.4 seconds on the clock was his final point of the night, and now has 32,310 career points.
The 19-year veteran only trails Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) on the scoring list.
read more http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2014/12/14/kobe-bryant-michael-jordan-career-points-los-angeles-timberwolves/20407521/
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