Monday night LeBron James played the best game of his career, scoring a record 61 points for the Miami Heat. James led the Heat to their eighth straight victory with a final score of 124-107 over the Charlotte Bobcats.
“The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play the game of basketball,” James said. “I just try to take advantage of it every night. I got the trust of my teammates and my coaching staff to go in there and let it go.”
Before last night’s game, James’ career high was 56 points, which he scored while playing for Cleveland against Toronto back in 2005. The previous record for a Miami Heat player was set by Glen Rice with 56 points against Orlando back in 1995.
“After three quarters, I wanted to hit 50 on the home floor,” said James. “This is the first time I’ve scored 50 on the home floor. I’ve done it so many times on the road and to be able to do it on front of these fans. [Coach Erik Spoelstra] said he was going to give me a couple of minutes in the fourth. He gave me more than a few minutes.”
The game marked James’ 10th 50-point game of his career, and it was the first time he was able to do it in front of a home crowd. He had 24 points at halftime and another 25 in the third quarter alone, breaking his own team’s record of 24 points in a quarter. With 5:46 remaining, he broke the record. “King James,” while wearing a clear mask for his broken nose, shot 22-for-33 from the field, 8-for-10 from the three-point range and 9-for-12 from the free throw line.
“Every night I go on the floor I want to be the MVP, of this league, MVP of this team, MVP for me, myself and my family,” James said. “I’ve set a high standard and I have to live by that.”
