LeBron James Scores 50 Against the Knicks
March 6, 2008
The plug has been pulled at Madison Square Garden for most of this season, but LeBron James found a way to electrify it for one night. The NBA's leading scorer put up 50 points Wednesday night in a 119-105 win over the Knicks before a roaring Garden crowd of 18,760.
"Tonight," James said, "I just got that feeling."
That feeling came over him with about six minutes left in the game, once he hit the 40-point mark. Those along a star-studded celebrity row that included Jeremy Piven, Julia Stiles, Jay-Z and Woody Allen say they saw him mouth "50" to Spike Lee.
The Knicks trailed 99-98 when James went on a tear in the final 3:51, when he hit four three-pointers.
His 50th point came on his final three with 1:04 left. Cleveland coach Mike Brown pulled James with 23 seconds left and during the timeout a fan in a James jersey sprinted onto the court from across the floor and met James in the Cleveland huddle.
As security mobbed the fan, James reached out and shook his hand as the fan told him, "You're my favorite player. I just wanted to meet you!"
James said he appreciated the fan's gesture and added, "I respect him." He wasn't concerned for his safety.
"I'm 6-9, 260," James said. "I'm all right."
The fan was taken into custody by Garden security and later arrested.
James added 10 assists and eight rebounds. He shot 16 of 30 from the field, including 7 of 13 from three-point range.
