LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA's all-time regular season points scoring rankings on Saturday, overtaking Karl Malone during the Los Angeles Lakers road game against the Washington Wizards.

The 37-year-old superstar -– who holds the NBA's outright scoring record for regular season and playoff games -- started the game needing just 20 points to surpass Malone's regular season tally of 36,928.

The Lakers ace wasted no time in tracking down Malone's benchmark, quickly notching 10 points and then moving to 16 with back-to-back three-pointers early in the second quarter.

The four-time NBA champion then added another three-pointer to tie Malone, before finally taking sole possession of second place with a two-point layup with just over five minutes left in the second quarter.

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The Washington crowd gave James an ovation after he reached the milestone, with the Lakers star saluting fans as he basked in the applause.

James still has some distance to go however before he passes another Lakers icon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in first place.

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Abdul-Jabbar leads the all-time regular season scorers with 38,387 points.

Malone amassed his points tally in 1,476 games during 19 seasons in the NBA. James's points haul came in the 1,363rd regular season game of his career.

© Agence France-Presse