LeBron James said it is "very surreal and very humbling" to be referred to as an NBA great after moving up to ninth in the all-time scoring list on Friday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar claimed a 27-point haul in an emphatic Cleveland Cavaliers' 114-84 victory over his former team Miami Heat.

James has now bettered Elvin Hayes' tally and has 27,315 points to his name, with passing Moses Malone (27,409) his next target. 

The 31-year-old expressed his pride after moving beyond former Houston Rockets man Hayes.

"I read up on him," James said of Hayes. "I know the history of the game. Obviously, I haven't gotten an opportunity to see him much.

"But I know how dominant he was in his era when he played the game.

"So anytime I'm mentioned with any of the greats, and he's one of them, it's very surreal and very humbling."

James was full of praise for Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, who scored 28 and 23 points respectively in outstanding all-round displays

"They've been playing probably the best basketball of their careers thus far," James said.

He added of Love, who also took 15 rebounds: "He's the Kevin Love of old, and this is everything we expected out of him. That's what we want out of him. But there's no added pressure for him.

"He's going out and just playing his game right now. He's shooting the ball extremely well. He's rebounding at a high clip, and he's at a point where he's just comfortable with everything, and it's great to have him."