LeBron James moved past Michael Jordan up to fourth on the NBA all-time scoring list during the Los Angeles Lakers' 115-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The 34-year-old hit 31 points to take his all-time tally to 32,311 and surpass Jordan's haul of 32,292.
James has reached that landmark in significantly more games however, with 1,190 matches to Jordan's 1,072.
"This ranks up there at the top (with) winning a championship," James told the Lakers' website.
"I mean, for a kid from Akron, Ohio, that needed inspiration and some type of positive influence, MJ was that guy for me.
"I watched him from afar. I wanted to be like MJ. I wanted to shoot fadeaways like MJ. I wanted to stick my tongue out on dunks like MJ. I wanted to wear my sneakers like MJ. I wanted kids to look up to me at some point like MJ. It's crazy, to be honest. It's beyond crazy."
Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) are the only players above James on the all-time list.
Gordon Hayward scored a tie-breaking jumper with two seconds remaining on the clock to edge the Boston Celtics to a 111-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Al Horford notched up 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to give the Celtics back-to-back wins.
There was another narrow contest as the Chicago Bulls snatched a 108-107 win against the Philadelphia 76ers with only 1.6 seconds left in the match.
Zach LaVine grabbed the crucial score to take his match haul to a game-high 39 points and end the Bulls' two-match losing streak.
New Orleans' three-game winning run was ended by the Utah Jazz who claimed a 114-104 win thanks to Derrick Favors' 25 points.
The San Antonio Spurs stretched their winning run to four as LaMarcus Aldridge hit 32 points in a 111-104 win against the Atlanta Hawks.
Derrick White also starred for the Spurs with 18 points and a career-high six blocks.
The Detroit Pistons kept up their fine run of form by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-114, Bradley Beal hit 30 points in the Washington Wizards' 132-123 victory at home to the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 91-84.
Elsewhere, Devin Booker's season-high 41 points lifted the Phoenix Suns to a 107-96 win over the New York Knicks.
