LOS ANGELES: LeBron James became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on Saturday, the 39-year-old superstar scoring nine against defending champion Denver to achieve the milestone.

But James called the historic effort 鈥渂ittersweet鈥� because it came in a losing cause as Nikola Jokic scored 35 points to rally the Nuggets late for a 124-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

鈥淏eing the first player to do something, it鈥檚 pretty cool in this league 鈥榗ause you just know the history, you know the grace that has come through the league,鈥� James said.

鈥淏ut the main thing is always the main thing and that鈥檚 the win. And I hated that had to happen in a defeat especially versus a team that plays extremely well.

鈥淲e played some good basketball but wasn鈥檛 able to close it out, so bittersweet, but I enjoyed every moment though, while on the floor.鈥�

James scored a team-high 26 points, 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets stretched their win streak to six games.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad we鈥檙e playing good,鈥� Jokic said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing the things we want to do. We don鈥檛 have too many breakdowns. I just like how we鈥檙e playing the game right now.鈥�

James, who just over a year ago overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA鈥檚 all-time scoring mark, is a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player as well as the league鈥檚 oldest active player, now in his 21st campaign.

鈥淛ust happy for him. It was a hell of an accomplishment,鈥� Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. 鈥淲ish we could have got the win to cap it off. But my hat鈥檚 off to him. Amazing, amazing run that continues to this day.鈥�

James scored his first basket on a fast break layup 6:20 into the opening quarter to give the Lakers an 18-12 edge, then added a 3-pointer from the left corner 63 seconds later for a 23-14 advantage.

He sank a layup 14 seconds into the second quarter to pull within two of the milestone, then missed a free throw and on the next Laker possession missed a 3-point shot.

James scored the historic basket with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter, banking in a driving layup from the left side of the basket to give the Lakers a 37-32 lead.

The crowd gave James a standing ovation during a timeout and the ball James used for the milestone hoop was removed from the game.

鈥淢uch respect and much loyalty to the Laker fan base for showing me that love during the timeout,鈥� James said.

Asked if he thought another NBA player could crack 40,000, James replied, 鈥淚 have no idea.鈥�

鈥淵ou have to play the game quite a while and have some good luck as far as injuries and things of that nature. You have to take care of your body. You have to be present on the floor and then you have to be productive as well.鈥�

The Nuggets equalized at 89-89 entering the fourth quarter and seized command with a 9-0 run in the final minutes to lead 117-110, Denver hitting 15-of-22 from the floor in the final quarter.

鈥淚 just want to be better,鈥� James said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always over the last few minutes of the game where they make plays, we don鈥檛 make plays that can be frustrating.鈥�

Denver鈥檚 Michael Porter Jr. went 10-for-10 from the floor and scored 25 points while matching Jokic鈥檚 10 rebounds.

鈥淗e was amazing,鈥� Jokic said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a good thing when you have a guy on your team that can shoot like that.鈥�

The Lakers, 33-29, rank 10th in the Western Conference while the Nuggets are 42-19, third in the West but only a half-game behind leading Minnesota.

In other games, Mikal Bridges scored 38 points to lead host Brooklyn over Atlanta 114-102 while Jimmy Butler netted 37 points to power the Miami Heat over visiting Utah 126-120.

Anfernee Simons hit 30 points to lead Portland鈥檚 107-100 overtime triumph at Memphis while Jalen Green鈥檚 34 points led Houston over host Phoenix 118-109.