Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) drives to the basket between Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) and shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (55) in the second half at American Airlines Arena on Monday. The Heat won 124-107. Picture: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
DPA/Los Angeles
The NBA’s best player, LeBron James, was at his all-time best on Monday.
“King” James poured in a career-high and a franchise-record 61 points, as the Miami Heat beat the visiting Charlotte Bobcats for an eighth straight win, 124-107.
James hit 22-of-33 floor shots, eight-of-10 from beyond the arc and nine-of-12 free throws in just 41 minutes to eclipse his previous personal best of 56, set in 2005 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The sensational performance by the four-time and reigning league most valuable player also erased Glen Rice’s franchise mark of 56 established April 15, 1995.
“I felt like I had a golf ball and was throwing it into ocean,” James said after notching his 10th career game of 50 or more points. “I was just locked in.”
Chris Bosh added 15 points for Miami (43-14), which shot a sizzling 55 per cent from the floor, including 16-of-28 triples en route to its 16th consecutive victory over Charlotte as All-Star guard Dwyane Wade rested his sore knees.
“It’s the most efficient 60 I’ve ever seen in the history of the game,” Bosh said. “Once he got to 35-40 it quickly multiplied.”
Al Jefferson wasted a 38-point, 19-rebound effort for the Bobcats (27-33), who were victimized by James.
“When he gets going there’s nothing nobody can do about it,” Jefferson said.
Added Bobcats coach Steve Clifford: “He was phenomenal tonight and he scored his points in a way that there’s not much you can do. He scored on layups, and if he’s going to step behind from that length and score it’s over.”
After netting 24 first-half points to Jefferson’s 26, James dropped in 25 in the third quarter on 9-of-11 shooting and 5-of-5 on 3’s, as the Heat extended a six-point advantage to 98-79 entering the final frame.
“I felt pretty good in the first half but halftime can always kind of derail things and slow things up,” James said. “But I was able to get things going once again in the third quarter and I knew it could be one of those nights.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra nearly took James out at the end of the third quarter but wisely changed his mind.
“I’m the guy that almost took him out in the third quarter to give him a rest but he was in a great groove obviously,” Spoelstra said. “Once he got it going and the rim looked like an ocean, at a certain point in the fourth quarter we were all watching. It was a special performance.”
James continued his assault on the rim, breaking the 26-year-old franchise-record on a layup at the 5-minute, 14-second mark.
When James finally exited with 1:24 left, he was greeted with high fives and hugs from his teammates and a standing ovation from the wildly-cheering sold out crowd at American Airlines Arena to chants of “M-V-P, M-V-P.”
“I haven’t had an opportunity to soak it in but it’s a surreal feeling for me right now,” James said.
“I don’t know when I’ll have an opportunity to understand what I’ve accomplished tonight as an individual but the excitement to do it in front of the fans and my teammates, they were telling me I was doing something special.”
Elsewhere: Brooklyn Nets 96, Chicago Bulls 80: Deron Williams scored 20 points, Joe Johnson added 19 and the Nets forced 28 turnovers resulting in 30 points to snap the visiting Bulls’ four-game winning streak.
Memphis Grizzlies 110, Washington Wizards 104: Tayshaun Prince scored a season-high 21 points, Mike Conley added 20, and the visiting Grizzlies ended the Wizards’ six-game winning streak despite a game-high 23 by John Wall.
Milwaukee Bucks 114, Utah Jazz 88: Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting, and the league-worst Bucks (12-47) beat the visiting Jazz, who got 27 from Enes Kantner.
Detroit Pistons 96, New York Knicks 85: Andre Drummond had 17 points and a career-high 26 rebounds, as the Pistons stopped a four-game slide by sending the visiting Knicks to their seventh straight loss despite Carmelo Anthony’s 28 points.
Minnesota Timberwolves 132, Denver Nuggets 128: Kevin Love had 33 points with a season-tying high 19 rebounds, and the visiting T-Wolves sent the Nuggets to their sixth straight defeat.
Ty Lawson topped Denver with a season-high 31 points with 11 assists.
LA Lakers 107, Portland Trail Blazers 106: Wesley Johnson soared in for the game-winning dunk off an inbound lob pass from Kent Bazemore with 6.9 seconds left, as the Lakers ended the Trail Blazers’ five-game success.
Spaniard Pau Gasol paced the Lakers with 22 points. Robin Lopez had 19 points and 16 boards for Portland.
Sacramento Kings 96, New Orleans Pelicans 89: DeMarcus Cousins had 23 points with 12 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 22, and the Kings handed the visiting Pelicans their eighth straight loss.
