LeBron scores 34 after historic 50,000th point, and Lakers beat Pelicans 136-115 for 7th straight W

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James finished with 34 points and became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and playoffs, and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their longest winning streak in four years to seven games with a 136-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

Luka Doncic had 30 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who have won 17 of 20 to move into second place in the Western Conference at 39-21. Jaxson Hayes had a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds as Los Angeles won its second straight without injured starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

Zion Williamson scored 37 points for the 14th-place Pelicans, who went 2-2 on an encouraging road trip. Trey Murphy III added 19 points.

James surpassed his latest milestone with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter. Lakers fans gave a standing ovation moments later to James, who acknowledged it with a wave of his hand.

Bronny James played the final 4:01, scoring two points in his first NBA action since Feb. 12.

Pelicans: Williamson was outstanding, going 17 of 23 from the floor and adding six assists. New Orleans will feel good about its offensive performance against the NBA's top defensive team in recent weeks.

Lakers: Almost everything is working. They're 11-2 since acquiring Doncic and 7-2 with the Slovenian superstar in uniform. Four supporting players scored at least eight points in the absences of Hachimura and Reaves.

Doncic’s 17 points in the first were his most in a quarter this season. The barrage was highlighted by 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions.

James is the only player in NBA history to top 45,000 combined points, let alone 50,000. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is second with 44,149.

The Pelicans host the Rockets on Thursday night, and the Lakers finish a six-game homestand against the Knicks.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James waves to the crowd after making a 3-point basket to go over the 50,000 career point mark during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, makes a 3-point basket over New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) to go over the 50,000 career point mark during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic smiles as he puts on a shirt during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) is fouled by New Orleans Pelicans' Kelly Olynyk (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (23) is defended by New Orleans Pelicans' Zion Williamson (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (23) reacts to a foul call on the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates after making a 3-point basket to go over the 50,000 career point mark during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) celebrates his three-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (77) celebrates his three-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, left, and Luka Doncic high-five during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Exxon Mobil’s first quarter profit slumped to the lowest level in years, stung by weaker crude prices and higher costs.

The oil and gas giant earned $7.71 billion, or $1.76 per share, for the three months ended March 31. It earned $8.22 billion, or $2.06 per share, in the year-ago period.

The results topped Wall Street expectations, but Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected earnings of $1.74 per share.

Revenue totaled $83.13 billion, which fell short of the $84.15 billion that analysts were calling for.

Chevron also reported its lowest first-quarter profits in years, with per-share adjusted profit falling to $2.18 per share on revenue of $47.61 billion. Similar to Exxon, Chevron does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales. Analysts predicted earnings of $2.15 per share on revenue of $48.66 billion.

The last time first-quarter profits were this low for Exxon was in 2022 and for Chevron, in 2021.

This week, a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude fell below $60, a level at which many producers can no longer turn a profit.

“In this uncertain market, our shareholders can be confident in knowing that we’re built for this,” Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said in a statement Friday. “The work we’ve done to transform our company over the past eight years positions us to excel in any environment.”

Crude oil is down nearly 18% for the year to date, according to FactSet.

Oil prices plummeted last month, at one point sinking to a four-year low in anticipation of slowing economic growth due to a burgeoning trade war.

Trump announced far-reaching tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners April 2 and then reversed himself a few days later after a market meltdown, suspending the import taxes for 90 days. Amid the uncertainty for both U.S. consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, the first drop in three years.

Tariffs on steel and other materials, used for everything from tools to drilling and storage, can have an outsized impact on oil companies and amplify the detrimental effect of falling oil and gas prices.

Those falling oil prices signal pessimism about economic growth and can be a harbinger of a recession as manufacturers cut production, businesses cut travel costs and families rethink vacation plans.

And there appears to be little appetite for turn off the spigots by some of the world's largest producers.

In December eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries signaled they would not cut production as they compete with production from non-allied oil producing countries.

The OPEC+ members decided at the time to postpone production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025.

That process was pushed back to April 1 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026.

Shares of Exxon Mobil rose slightly before the market open, while Chevron fell 2%.

FILE - This is the sign on a Exxon gas station in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

FILE - Oil pumps work in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain, Sept. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)