Los Angeles @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2019 ) L.A. Lakers 120, Philadelphia 143

LeBron James has a chance to pass Kobe Bryant for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. James, who averages 25.2 points, needs 18 to surpass Bryant's career total of 33,643.

James, who was announced as an All-Star captain on Thursday, collected 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead his Western Conference-best Lakers to a 128-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets and pull within shouting distance of passing Bryant. "I don't think about it going into it saying, 'OK, this is what I got to do. This is how many points I need. This is how many assists I need,'" James told reporters. "When it happens, it happens. If it happens. And, so, I don't know how I'm going to feel when it happens. But it's a pretty cool thing, you're just linked with one of the greatest of all time." The 76ers were winners of four straight before suffering a 107-95 setback at Toronto on Wednesday, during which starting guard Josh Richardson left with a hamstring injury that will reportedly keep him out at least two weeks. "Somebody has to step up," point guard Ben Simmons told reporters. "That's everybody. One guy goes down, everybody has got to step up."

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: ABC, TSN2

ABOUT THE LAKERS (36-9): James is showing no sign of slowing down at age 35 and averages a league-best and career-high 10.8 assists while spending most of his time at point guard. The future Hall of Famer posted his 10th triple-double of the season on Thursday while Anthony Davis (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Dwight Howard (14 points, 12 boards) each added a double-double on the second night of a back-to-back. "We just tried not to fall into the trap of being tired or anything of that nature," Davis told reporters. "Not having fresh legs. Everybody plays back-to-backs. Guys have been in the league a long time, know how it feels. I think it makes us lock in a lot more, we knew it was probably going to be tight on a back-to-back, but we just try to fight through it and come up with wins."

ABOUT THE 76ERS (29-17): Richardson is the second starter to go down recently for Philadelphia, which will be without center Joel Embiid (finger) on Saturday but could see him return early next week. "I see it as an opportunity," 76ers coach Brett Brown told reporters of the injuries. "Something will happen out of this, where something will emerge. The spirit of the group is incredible. I really like coaching the team. They've got a togetherness, and we'll figure this out. And then, in the not-too-distant future, here comes (Embiid), whatever that means, and we'll deal with J-Rich's injury on the terms I just said." Shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz absorbed most of the minutes in the backcourt after Richardson's injury on Wednesday and finished with 17 points while going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Lakers C JaVale McGee (illness) sat out Thursday and is day-to-day.

2. Lakers SG Avery Bradley is 0-of-10 from 3-point range over the last five games.

3. Philadelphia swept the two-game series last season, including a 143-120 victory at home.

PREDICTION: Lakers 116, 76ers 114