Frank Vogel was keen to take the time to acknowledge LeBron James' achievement in passing Karl Malone despite the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-119 defeat to the Washington Wizards.

With 38 points against the Wizards, James moved ahead of Malone (36,928) onto 36,947 for his career, now trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) all-time.

For James, who has played 197 games fewer than Abdul-Jabbar, this was a 31st 30-point game of the season – behind only Joel Embiid (33).

Lakers team-mate Russell Westbrook described this latest accomplishment as "an amazing feat to witness", while Carmelo Anthony said he was "still in awe" of James.

James insisted he could not "separate" his own performance from the defeat – "all I care about is wins and losses," he explained – but that was not a stance Vogel agreed with.

"It's bittersweet, but I think it's important to separate it," the coach said.

"This is a moment of time that we can't get caught up in the pain of this loss and [must] recognise what an incredible feat this is for LeBron, doing it in the fashion that he did it.

"He just attacked the game tonight. He came in and was aggressive on both sides of the ball, the second night of a back-to-back, really playing with incredible energy after playing 45 minutes last night.

"It was just a signature performance in a game where he passes one of the greats and becomes the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the game.

"It's really impressive, and I'm super happy for him. It's awesome."

For a player so focused on results, this has been a tough season for James, with the loss leaving the Lakers just half a game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in ninth in the West at 30-41.

This is despite James' 29.8 points per game – the third-highest mark of his career and highest since 2007-08.

"It's just an incredible game, an incredible season, and I don't know where we'd be without him," Vogel said.

Happily for the Lakers, as they look set for the play-in game, Vogel believes James is still getting better.

"This year's no different. The fact that it's later in his career and he's still doing it at this level is different," he added.

"Obviously, the way he's continuing to evolve his game with the deep shooting, with the turnaround, fadeaway jump shot that Kobe [Bryant] and Michael [Jordan] had later in his career... He's growing as a receiver. That part is special."

LeBron James will not allow himself to think about breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA point scoring record despite moving into second spot on Saturday.

Four-time NBA MVP James scored 38 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-119 loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday, helping him surpass Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone's mark into second spot on the all-time list.

James is now behind only former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time NBA scoring list with 38,387 points.

The 37-year-old's 38-point haul moved him to 36,947 career points, which is 1,440 points behind Abdul-Jabbar's record.

The Lakers superstar has scored 1,580 points this season, meaning becoming the NBA's all-time top scorer is realistic in the next 12 months yet he insisted it was not a focus.

"I will not allow myself to think about it," James said at the post-game news conference. "I've always just played the game and these things have just happened organically by playing the right way.

"I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career but I won't think about it too much, pretty much until we get there hopefully."

James surpassed Malone's mark with 5:20 left in the second quarter. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are fourth and fifth respectively on the list.

"Just to be a part of this league for as many years as I've been a part of it, to be linked with some of the greatest to ever play this game, guys I've watched or studied, or read about, or inspired to be like, I'm just lost for words for it," James said.

"It's an honour for myself, for my friends and family to live these moments, for anyone who's shared my journey."

LeBron James will not allow himself to think about breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA point scoring record despite moving into second spot on Saturday.

Four-time NBA MVP James scored 38 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-119 loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday, helping him surpass Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone's mark into second spot on the all-time list.

James is now behind only former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time NBA scoring list with 38,387 points.

The 37-year-old's 38-point haul moved him to 36,947 career points, which is 1,440 points behind Abdul-Jabbar's record.

The Lakers superstar has scored 1,580 points this season, meaning becoming the NBA's all-time top scorer is realistic in the next 12 months yet he insisted it was not a focus.

"I will not allow myself to think about it," James said at the post-game news conference. "I've always just played the game and these things have just happened organically by playing the right way.

"I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career but I won't think about it too much, pretty much until we get there hopefully."

James surpassed Malone's mark with 5:20 left in the second quarter. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are fourth and fifth respectively on the list.

"Just to be a part of this league for as many years as I've been a part of it, to be linked with some of the greatest to ever play this game, guys I've watched or studied, or read about, or inspired to be like, I'm just lost for words for it," James said.

"It's an honour for myself, for my friends and family to live these moments, for anyone who's shared my journey."

Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James has surpassed Karl Malone as the league's all-time second leading scorer in Saturday's Los Angeles Lakers game against the Washington Wizards.

James trailed the former Utah Jazz Hall of Famer by 20 points coming into Saturday's game but passed him with 5:20 left in the second quarter.

The 37-year-old now is behind only former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time NBA scoring list with 38,387 points.

Two-time MVP Malone scored 36,928 points across his decorated 19-year NBA career. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are fourth and fifth respectively on the list.

James, who was under some doubt for Saturday's game due to knee soreness following Friday's over-time win over the Toronto Raptors, entered the game averaging 29.7 points per game this season.

The four-time NBA champion has not had such a productive offensive season since 2009-10 when he averaged 29.7 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Zion Williamson needs to "get in shape" if he is to fulfil his potential in the NBA, according to Hall of Famer Karl Malone.

New Orleans selected Williamson with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft but a meniscus tear in preseason and a season shortened by the coronavirus pandemic meant he played just 24 games in his rookie campaign.

The Duke product is up to 36 games – still less than half the standard season – but former power forward Malone, a two-time MVP who had All-NBA First Team honours on 11 occasions, thinks he need to improve his physique if he is to maximise his abilities.

Williamson is listed at six foot, seven inches and 284 pounds, with Malone pointing to Glen 'Big Baby' Davis as an example of someone who did not live up to their billing due to their size – Davis was 6ft 9in and played at 289 pounds.

"I love Zion Williamson. Zion needs to get into shape. If he doesn't get in shape, we might not ever know his full potential," Malone said on The Players' Tribune's Knuckleheads podcast.

"There's a young man that played at LSU, 'Big Baby' Davis. Big Baby made a comment about eight months ago, he did an ESPN show … he came on that show and he said, 'Look guys, I'm about to get into trouble now with what I'm about to say. I know everybody loves Zion and I love him too. But Zion has the same body type that I had.'

"He was talking about himself. And he said if he doesn't get into shape, we'll never know his full potential. And he did get heat from that."

Williamson had 32 points with five rebounds and three assists as the Pelicans suffered a 118-102 defeat to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, New Orleans losing for the sixth time in seven games to slip to 5-8 for the season.

This season the 20-year-old is averaging 23.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in 32.6 minutes per game. That ranks him 44th in minutes per game, with his usage percentage of 29.1 enough for 39th in the league.

However, he leads in the league in contested three-points shots per game at 5.9.

Malone added: "I'm still waiting on him to play the whole damn season… and he needs to be averaging 40 minutes per game. Look here, you're a 21, 22-year-old kid. Your a** shouldn't get tired."