Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) pulls down a rebound against New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) in the first half of Saturday's game in New Orleans. (AP photo)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LeBron James moved 36 points away from breaking the NBA career scoring record in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 131-126 loss to New Orleans on Saturday night that ended the Pelicans’ losing streak at 10 games.

James had 27 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists as he continued to close in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record total of 38,387 points. The Lakers next host Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

Brandon Ingram scored 35 points for the Pelicans.

CJ McCollum had 23 points, highlighted by a late 3 to help New Orleans close out the final 3:14 on a 9-5 run that kept the Lakers at bay.

Anthony Davis had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers. They led by 12 when James’ finger role made it 84-72 in the third quarter.

The Pelicans chipped away and closed the period with five quick points on McCollum’s transition floater and Jose Alvarado’s 3 after he caught a deflected inbound pass.

That sequence cut the Lakers’ advantage to 106-103, and New Orleans surged into the lead when Trey Murphy hit back-to-back 3s, the second from 27 feet, to make it 114-108.

Fans cheered for James during introductions and often cheered when he scored, particularly after his end-to-end transition dunk in the third quarter. In the fourth, when James tried to save a ball from going out of bounds and fell across the first couple rows of spectators, fans patted him on the back supportively as he lay across them and helped him up.