LeBron surpasses Jordan as playoffs scoring leader

New York

Cleveland forward LeBron James moved pastHall of Famer Michael Jordan as the leading scorer in NBA playoff history onhis way to helping the Cavaliers ease into a third successive NBA Finals series.

James needed 28 points to surpass Jordan(5,987 points), as he entered Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finalsagainst the Boston Celtics and reached the milestone in style late in the thirdquarter with a three-point jump shot.

James celebrated the record by raising hisright index finger to signal number one, but quickly retreated to the backcourtto defend as the game continued.

The three-pointer put the Cavaliers up by32 points.

James promptly knocked down two morethree-pointers before the end of the third period.

With victory in the bag, he sat out thefourth quarter as the Cavaliers routed the Celtics 135-102 to clinch thebest-of-seven series 4-1, and set up a third successive championship seriesagainst the Golden State Warriors.

The 32-year-old James, who is seeking afourth NBA title, took 212 post-season games to surpass Jordan, a six-timechampion who played 179 playoff games.

James said he was honored to pass Jordan,his boyhood idol. "I think first of all I wear the number (23) because ofMike," he told reporters after finishing the game with 35 points to takehis total to 5,995 points.

"I think I fell in love with the gamebecause of Mike, but when you're growing up and seeing Michael Jordan it'salmost like a god, so I never did believe I could be Mike.

"The biggest thing for me sitting hereafter breaking the all-time scoring record in playoff history, is I did it justbeing me.

"I don't have to score to make animpact on a game and that was my mindset when I started playing, if I'm notscoring how can I still make an impact on the game?

"It's carried me to this point now andit's going to carry me for the rest of my career because scoring is not numberone on my agenda,” he concluded.