Harden passes Carmelo to enter all-time NBA scoring top 10

Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden moved into the top 10 of all-time NBA scorers Saturday, overtaking Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony during the Clippers' 109-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Harden surpassed Anthony with a free throw late in the third quarter, his 21st point of the contest.

"A testament to the work I've put in," Harden said, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. "It's an honor, especially with somebody like Melo, who's done so much greatness for this league."

The Clippers guard finished with 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting (1-of-5 from deep), taking him to 28,303. He went 13-of-15 from the line, adding six assists, five rebounds, four steals, and a block.

Anthony was previously 10th with 28,289 career points. He reached the mark in 1,260 career games, while Harden overtook him in 1,174 games.

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"I was looking at the list, and it's like all those guys are way bigger than me, way more athletic than me," Harden said.

The majority of Harden's points were during his eight-and-a-half seasons with the Houston Rockets, during which he tallied 18,365. He's scored his second-most with the Clippers, moving up to 3,610 points after Saturday.

The 36-year-old may not have to wait long to climb even further on the list. Harden is 293 points behind Shaquille O'Neal in ninth, with 58 games left to play. At his 26.5 point-per-game average entering Saturday, the 11-time All-Star could theoretically vault O'Neal before the All-Star Game, which will be held at the Clippers' Intuit Dome.