CLEVELAND _ With another special night in a season of unfathomable greatness for the 33-year-old superstar, LeBron James' pursuit of a ghost seemed like a race he can win.
"My motivation is the ghost I'm chasing. The ghost played in Chicago," James told Sports Illustrated after leading the Cavaliers to their only championship in 2016.
Some might argue that James needs more than three titles to be considered the greatest of all-time, even though James' supporting cast during his first seven years in Cleveland couldn't compare to Michael Jordan's when he won six with the Chicago Bulls.
But if that is not the only measure, James has Jordan in his sights.
James took another step out of Jordan's shadow Friday night, rallying the Cavs from a 13-point deficit for a 107-102 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Quicken Loans Arena. With 27 points, James scored in double figures for the 867th consecutive game to pass Jordan, whose mark of 866 stood for 17 years.
James wasted no time, scoring nine points in the first five minutes and getting the record-setter on a dunk with 5:59 left in the first quarter. Nikola Mirotic and Solomon Hill didn't dare to contest, instead serving as helpless spectators to history.
The Cavs stopped the game at the 4:49 mark to acknowledge the feat and give James the game ball. A standing ovation ended with fans chanting "MVP!"
On another dunk with 1:54 left in the second quarter, James launched from the foul line and soared above the rim, a move that now seems more befitting The King than His Airness, as the crowd roared.
With his 941st career 20-point game, James also tied Kobe Bryant for the third most in league history. James also totaled nine rebounds and 11 assists in 42 minutes.
The Cavs won for the seventh time in their last eight games and took their fifth in a row at the Q, but they didn't make a game of it until the third quarter. When they turned it on, they did it spectacularly.
With their defensive effort lacking, the Cavs trailed 71-59 with 6:22 left in the third quarter when point guard George Hill sprained his left ankle, going down under the Cavs basket. Hill could barely walk the length of the court to the locker room, bending over and stopping repeatedly, before John Holland wrapped his arm around Hill's waist to help.
Somehow the Cavs pulled together after Hill's departure, finishing the quarter on a 21-8 run to take an 80-79 lead at the break.
They used consecutive 3s from J.R. Smith, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Calderon to open a 95-88 lead. James scored eight in a row as the Cavs led 105-98 with 1:59 remaining. But the Pelicans closed it to 105-102 on baskets by Hill and Jrue Holiday.
Smith and Clarkson each made one of two free throws in the final seconds as the Cavs hung on.
Clarkson matched his season-best as a Cav with 23 points, and Rodney Hood added 16 and Tristan Thompson totaled a game-high 14 rebounds.
With Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. guarding five-time All-Star Anthony Davis, the 6-foot-10 Pelicans star scored 16 points, making 6 of 19 from the field.
Holiday led the Pelicans with 25 points, scoring eight consecutive points in the fourth quarter.
Five-time All-Star Kevin Love returned after sitting out Wednesday's game at Charlotte while in the league's concussion protocol and scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds. Smith saw action after missing shootaround with an illness that acting coach Larry Drew said first bothered him Tuesday in Miami. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue watched from somewhere in the arena for the first time since taking a leave of absence on March 19 to address health issues, but was not on the bench.
But the spotlight was on James, who started his string of 867 on Jan. 6, 2007. Jordan's streak began on March 25, 1986 and ran through Dec. 26, 2001. The next night at Indiana, Jordan made just 2 of 10 field goals and scored six points in 25 minutes of a 27-point loss.
When James tied Jordan Wednesday, Cavs forward Jeff Green was asked what struck him most about what James has done.
"I'm at one," Green said, adding that he was enjoying James' run just as much as the four-time league MVP.
James didn't agree that the fact that the record could last for a long time would make it mean more.
"Nah, I think records are always meant to be broken," he said at shootaround. "At the end of the day I think a lot of people didn't believe Mike's record would ever be broken, so who am I to say that mine won't be, if I'm able to accomplish this tonight? We'll see."
James also wasn't sure what the streak would mean to him because it's not something he set out to do.
"But any time a statistical category comes up and I'm able to accomplish something like that, I mean it's pretty incredible," he said. "I think it's been like 11 years that I've been able to accomplish this feat. So I've been able to take care of my body, I've been around some great teammates and coaches and two organizations that have allowed me to be who I am, and just going out and playing for the joy of the game. To have an opportunity to set the record tonight is a pretty cool achievement."
