Having lost four in a row, the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a win Friday night against the Washington Wizards, and thanks to LeBron James, they got one.
The King put on a regal performance, finishing with 57 points on an incredibly efficient 23-of-34 shooting, while also chipping in 11 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the Cavs to a 130-122 victory.
Just look at this shot chart. Fifteen of seventeen at the rim!
OK, now let's check out the highlights.
.@KingJames put up 57 points against the Wizards, his first 50+ point game since he played for the Heat. 😱 pic.twitter.com/kYa0dctZ3w
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 4, 2017
After the game, James said, "I had to do what I had to do to help us get off this losing streak. I ain't about losing. Y'all know me."
In addition to his motivation to stop the losing streak, LeBron also got some extra juice from Bradley Beal. A few hours before the game, Beal said on ESPN that the Wizards were the best team in the Eastern Conference. As we know now, it turns out that wasn't such a wise thing to get on national TV and say.
So, given that this was a historic performance, let's learn some fun facts and stats about what LeBron just did.
- LeBron's 57 points were four shy of his career-high of 61, which he set in March of 2014.
- The 57-point performance tied Kyrie Irving (lol) for the all-time single-game scoring record in Cavaliers history.
- LeBron surpassed 29,000 career points in the process, and became the youngest player ever to reach the milestone.
- Including this game, LeBron now has 11 50-point games, tying him with Allen Iverson for the third-most in the 3-point era. Only Michael Jordan (31) and Kobe Bryant (25) have more.
- Since 1983, LeBron's performance was only the sixth 55-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist game. David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron himself back in 2005, were the others.
- This was the 283rd 30-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game in LeBron's career. Only Oscar Robertson (350) has more.
- LeBron scored double-digit points on four different defenders during the game, putting up 16 against John Wall, 11 against both Kelly Oubre Jr. and Otto Porter, and 10 against Bradley Beal.
- As Dion Waiters pointed out, LeBron and Dwyane Wade combined for 59 points, just like the old days.
- LeBron also became the first player over 30 years old to score 50-plus points on over 65 percent shooting since... Andre Miller!
- And finally, LeBron -- who earlier on Friday night passed the Black Mamba as the youngest player ever to reach 29,000 career points -- joined Kobe Bryant as the only other player to score 50-plus points in their 15th season or later.
