James Passes Malone for 6th on All-Time Playoff Scoring List

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James passed Karl Malone for sixth place on the NBA's all-time playoff scoring list during Sunday's 114-111 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, per the NBA's official Twitter account.

James now has 4,782 career points in the playoffs, putting him 21 ahead of seventh-place Malone (4,761) and 331 behind fifth-place Tim Duncan (5,113).

Even more impressive than his ascent up the all-time playoff scoring list, James had 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists Sunday night, making him the first player (since at least 1985) to reach all three of those statistical benchmarks in a playoff game, per basketball-reference.com's play index.

It marked the 12th triple-double of James' playoff career, putting him second on the all-time list behind only Magic Johnson, who remarkably managed 30, per Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.

It appears James will have quite a few more opportunities to pad his triple-double count this postseason, as the Cavaliers' 3-0 series lead means he's likely headed for a fifth consecutive NBA Finals, where he figures to face a Golden State Warriors team that's currently up 3-0 on the Houston Rockets.

Given the fast pace Golden State plays at, it would be surprising if James made it through a Finals series without notching at least one more triple-double.

First, he'll look to close out the Hawks in Tuesday's Game 4 in Cleveland.