After falling behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals to the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked as though they were circling the drain of elimination. Two more games later, the Cavs have managed to even the series up at two wins apiece with LeBron James sustaining his top form and his teammates stepping up.
During Monday’s 111-102 Cavs win at home, James flashed his mighty form anew, scoring 44 points on an incredibly efficient 17-for-28 shooting from the field (60.7 percent) with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. With yet another huge performance, James was also able to tie former Philadelphia 76ers scoring machine Allen Iverson for most 40-point games in a single playoff run since 2001, when The Answer also had six games in the postseason with at least 40 markers.
Iverson also had two 50 point games during that playoff campaign, unloading 54 and 52 points in Games 2 and 5, respectively, of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As for James, the highest he’s had in a game so far in these playoffs was his 46-point performance in Game 2 of the first round against the Indiana Pacers. He also had another 44-point outing in Game 5 of that series.
So far in the postseason, James is averaging 33.7 points per game on 55.0 field goal percentage.
Depending on how many more games Cleveland will play in these playoffs, James could tie or break Jerry West’s mark of eight 40-point games in a single postseason run.