LeBron James Went Off For 56 Points As The Lakers Beat The Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers have underperformed this season, and in recent weeks, things have become more and more urgent as they’ve fallen down the standings in the Western Conference. On Saturday, the team played host to the Golden State Warriors, with Magic Johnson saying on ESPN before the game that the team had to pick up a win.

LeBron James must have overheard Johnson while he said that, because the Lakers star put forth one of his best performances in the purple and gold. Los Angeles came out on top, 124-116, behind a 56-point evening by James, who pitched in 10 points, three assists, and a block.

It was obvious from early in the game that James was in for a big night, as he entered the locker room at halftime with 26 points.

James just kept scoring and scoring, putting Los Angeles on his back while Steph Curry and the Warriors’ bench tore apart the Laker defense. His 40th point came when he put the ball on the deck and barreled his way to the rim, throwing down a one-handed reverse dunk.

While he isn’t always a dangerous three-point shooter, James has punished teams from downtown in his career when he gets into a groove. He knocked down six of his 11 attempts from three, including one that got him right onto the cusp of a 50-point night after Jeff Van Gundy said “heat checks rarely work.”

He got to the 50-point mark with a layup, and a little bit later, electrified the crowd at Crypto.com Arena with an alley-oop from Malik Monk.

Not only did James score a ton, but he managed to do so efficiently, going 19-for-31 from the field. His performance made him the fourth player — joining Kobe Bryant, Jamal Crawford, and Michael Jordan — to score at least 50 points in a game after turning 37. He was unable to get the record for most points in a game after hitting that age, though, and funny enough, the record was set in the same building in which he played on Saturday night, as Bryant famously scored 60 points in his final game before retiring.