Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, and forward LeBron James embrace after defeating the Heat on Thursday in Miami. (AP photo)

MIAMI — The King has tied The Chief.

LeBron James started for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Miami Heat on Thursday night, making it the 1,611th regular-season game of his career and tying Robert Parish’s all-time NBA mark.

Parish — dubbed “Chief” during much of his playing career — has held the record for nearly 30 years. It now also belongs to James, someone who has had the “King” moniker for much of his basketball life and now has yet another record on what seems like an endless resume of accomplishment within the game.

And at 41, James isn’t slowing down. He had 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the Lakers’ 134-126 win — their eighth consecutive victory.

“I’ve always wanted to be available to my teammates, either in Cleveland, here, and now in LA,” James said at his stall in Miami’s visiting locker room after the game. “It takes a lot. I mean, it’s a mental toll, man, trying to play a lot.”

The games played mark is the latest entry on a long list of NBA records for James, who has the league’s all-time top spot in a number of categories including points scored, minutes played, field goals made and field goals attempted.

“I think he understands the importance of his position,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said Thursday. “And he talks all the time about not cheating the game and recognizing that he is one of the all-time greats. With that comes a lot of responsibility, and he does everything he can to live up to that responsibility.”

James is also the NBA record holder with 23 seasons played, 22 All-Star selections and 21 All-NBA team selections. He had a 1,297-game streak of double-digit regular season games snapped earlier this season.

“You just have to absolutely respect his level of competitive spirit,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s competing against not only the entire league, but he’s also competing against Father Time — and he’s giving Father Time hell.”

James, Doncic and Austin Reaves — who combined for 84 points on Wednesday in the Lakers’ 124-116 win at Houston — were all on the injury report around midday Thursday for the Lakers. But Redick said he found out by mid-afternoon that James was among the players who decided Wednesday night to play despite the later-than-usual arrival time in Miami.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba