In his homecoming to the city where he captured two championship rings, two NBA Finals MVP awards and two regular-season MVP trophies, LeBron James reminded Miami just how dominant he could be.
The first-year Laker and future Hall of Famer put together a vintage performance, racking up a season-high 51 points on only 31 shots from the field, leading the purple and gold to a 113-97 victory over the Heat.
While he was happy to see some familiar faces in South Florida, LeBron rejected the idea that his performance stemmed from a return to a familiar “environment.”
“The environment is the basketball and the hoop,” James said. “That’s my environment, that’s my comfort zone.”
Just three days after dropping 44 on Portland, LeBron was back into legend mode. He sizzled from every spot on the floor, hitting 19-of-31 from the field, 6-of-8 on 3-pointers and 7-of-10 at the foul line (while making time for eight rebounds).
“I’ve always been pretty efficient with my game,” James said. “I don’t like taking uncharacteristic shots or bad shots.”
While James may be one of the most efficient players of all-time, that doesn’t mean he was out there filling the bucket with uncontested layups.
In fact, the degree of difficulty on his shots made his 51-point night exponentially more impressive. He cooked even when draped by defenders, splashing six fadeaways and six step-backs.
“When players are as good as LeBron and they’re having a night, things just look easy for them,” coach Luke Walton said. “It’s not easy, but they make it look that easy because they’re that good.”
James bullied Miami (6-10) right away, scoring 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first quarter alone, which included a handful of his more memorable baskets.
The 16-year veteran maintained his fire throughout the game, scoring nine in the second quarter, 14 in the third and nine in the fourth. He finished the night with 32 points more than any other player on the floor.
But even James couldn’t win a game one-on-five. After being gashed by Orlando the night before, the Lakers (9-7) returned to their strong team defense by holding Miami to 40.2 percent shooting.
He also had some offensive assistance from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — who added 19 points and three 3-pointers — as well as Kyle Kuzma — who provided 15 points and mirrored some of James’ tough fadeaways.
“Just give [James] the ball and get out of the way,” Kuzma said. “He can score with the best of them. People always talk about his facilitating and pass-first mentality, but he could probably average 40 if he wanted to.”
Yet James’ primary offensive assistance came from Tyson Chandler, despite the fact that the big man only made one shot.
Chandler was excellent on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds (including five offensive), and, even more importantly, constantly gave LeBron open looks and mismatches thanks to his colossal screening.
After James’ blistering night — which saw him catapult from sixth in the NBA in scoring to second — Chandler reminisced on the greatness LeBron has shown since arriving to the league as an 18-year-old in 2003.
“It’s truly remarkable what he’s been able to do for as long as he’s been able to,” Chandler said. “I came out [in the draft] right before him. Seeing all the hype that was coming with him, I didn’t know if anybody could live up to that hype. And not only has he lived up to the hype, he’s surpassed the hype. Honestly, you can’t necessarily describe that.
“There’s only one other guy on the planet that you could compare him with, and that’s MJ [Michael Jordan]. At this point he’s arguably fighting for the greatest of all-time.”
James is currently 794 points behind Jordan for the fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and on pace to eclipse the Chicago Bulls legend in January.
In the meantime, LeBron’s 12th career 50-point game pushed him past Allen Iverson for the sixth-most in league history.
An unlikely source can be credited for James reaching the half-century mark, as Lance Stephenson dared him to end the game with a 3-pointer.
So LeBron responded by draining a step-back trey with 16 seconds left, and making sure that Stephenson saw it.
“I went for the 3,” James laughed, “so I was pointing right at Lance.”
Notes
The Lakers never trailed, and led by as many as 21 points. … LeBron beat the Heat for the first time since leaving the team in 2014. … L.A. had a 17-5 advantage in fast-break points. … Wayne Ellington led Miami with 19 points and five 3-pointers.