James becomes youngest NBA player to score 15,000 pts

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 15,000 points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark in a National Basketball Association game.

Bryant, who scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, scored the historic basket in the opening quarter of Cleveland's 92-85 win over the Chicago Bulls.

He finished with 29 points for a career total of 15,026 and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who posted their 12th win in their last 13 games.

"I was born with a God-given gift," he said. "I take full advantage of it by being able to do what I do on the basketball court. Hopefully, I can continue to stay healthy, and hopefully, I'll continue to break records."

Three points off the milestone when the game started, James scored his first points on a dunk and then hit two free throws about 40 seconds later, giving him 15,001 career points.

James broke Bryant's record by more than two years, reaching the mark at 25 years, 79 days while Bryant was 27 years, 136 days when he did it for the Los Angeles Lakers. He did it in his 540th game compared to 657 for Bryant.

"There's not a milestone that I think he's going to attain that would shock me at all," coach Mike Brown said.

James scored seven straight points late in the game as Cleveland increased its lead to 10, sending Chicago to their 10th consecutive loss.

Mo Williams chipped in 18 points for the Cavaliers, who continued to thrive despite losing Shaquille O'Neal to an injury. Cleveland has 10 wins and one loss with O'Neal out with a thumb injury.

The Bulls were shorthanded, missing Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah with injuries.

Chicago was led by Taj Gibson (20 points, 13 rebounds) and James Johnson (16 points) but it wasn't enough to halt their longest losing skid since November 2001.

"It's really frustrating right now," veteran Kirk Hinrich said. "I don't know how else to explain it."

Deng could miss two to three more weeks because of a strained right calf while Rose has missed four consecutive games because of a sprained left wrist he suffered in a collision with centre Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

France's Noah has missed the past 10 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.