LOS ANGELES — LeBron James continues to redefine the standard for what a star is capable of at such a late stage of his career.
James, 37, scored 50 points for the second time in his last three games to guide the Lakers to a 122-109 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday.
The win came six days after James scored 56 against the Golden State Warriors, a win for LA as well. points, they are 0-6 the rest of their games and are still only 9th in the Western Conference at 29-37.
In a season when the Lakers gave fans no reason to pay for tickets to see him, James was given a rare "MVP! MVP!" met. Chant the sell out crowd at the Crypto.com Arena. He said he appreciated the welcome, noting how many times boos have been heard in the building.
James said, "Listen, the Laker loyalist knows when bad basketball is being played and they know when good basketball is being played. They have a right to their reaction." "They've seen so many great teams, so many great individuals. ... So for me, being part of this franchise, I feel like I'm trying to give them a chance to have memorable nights as well.
"Try to give them something to please, give them something to feel good about on a nightly basis, and I know it hasn't been as good as they want it to be this year, but when you're younger They come to win."
LA was heading for another loss, down nine at the start of the third quarter, when James turned red-hot. In the middle of this period, with less than two minutes of play, he scored 12 straight points to give the Lakers control of the game and drive the crowd into frenzy.
And he did it several ways, starting the flurry with an 18-foot fadeaway, followed by layups 1 and 1, then 3 pull-ups from 31 feet. There was also a floating bank shot that he double-clutched before completely removing it from the glass, and a fast-brake dunk at the end when he appeared to be trying to pull the rim off his screws.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, "What stands out to me is, the league has never seen a player do what he's doing at this point in his career." "I think this is the biggest thing that needs to be recognized. The level at which he is playing is unbelievable."
James completed 18-for-25 (72%) shooting from the field, including 6-of-9 at 3-pointers and 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
And he did it in a game when he started in the center against the Washington team, with 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis working the middle for an early tip.
"Maybe after all these years, the best way to use him was to actually play his center," Vogel said. "Because that's where he's doing it by playing center position with [Anthony Davis]. Doing whatever it takes for the team to win the game. And just an incredible, unbelievable, epic performance by LJ."
It was the 14th 50-point game of James' career, tied Rick Barry for the sixth-most number of times, and his teams have now won his last 12 games when he has gone for 50 or more. To underscore Vogel's point about James doing so at age 37 and into his 19th season, consider that James was the first in NBA history to score 50 consecutive home games at age 30. Became the first player.
He has now scored 20 or more in 30 straight games, raising his scoring average from 29.3 points per game to 29.7 per game and surpassing Joel Embiid of Philadelphia for first place in the race for the league scoring title.
“Just trying to always be present,” James said when asked what has been working aggressively for him of late. "And when game day is here, I'm here five hours before the game and preparing - preparing personally, what I need to do to help this team come out victorious, I'm preparing at whatever power I can. To help this team become as great as they can that night. So, that's what it takes."
James' night dominated the main story going into Friday's game - the Lakers teamed up with the Wizards to acquire Russell Westbrook in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope and more.
Westbrook had five points on 2-for-11 shooting, with nine assists and one turnover. Vogel pulled it off with 8 minutes, 37 seconds to spare and kept on the bench for the rest of the time. LA is now 3-1 this season when Vogel benched Westbrook late.
Vogel went with a closing lineup of James, Malik Monk (21 points), Talen Horton-Tucker (15 points), Austin Reeves (12 points) and Stanley Johnson, who scored 29–20 until Westbrook's exit. Final buzzer.
Meanwhile, Kuzma led Washington with 23 points, and Caldwell-Pope scored in four points, going 1-for-6 off the floor.
"It was just about winning those guys," Vogel said of his closing lineup. "It wasn't much more than that."
Horton-Tucker aided when James reached 50 on a 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining and let off a good-natured, festive scream at the direction of his old teammate Kuzma to bask in the moment.
"This is the second time he's scored 50 this year, and I was like, 'Damn.' I looked up, and I was like, 'Hey, he's got 50!'" Horton-Tucker said. "When they had 47, I knew they'd get 50, so I went to try and give them a 3. So, just looking at it, like, that's inspiration, as I always say."
James, who scored 19 points in the third quarter and a total of 33 in the second half, said his hot shooting reminded him of the 1990s video game NBA Jam, in which players were "on fire" after making three consecutive shots. Will be His subsequent shots go from virtually anywhere on the court.
"I was able to hit a hot streak at one point," James said. "I just tried to stay in that area for as long as possible and hit a couple."