LeBron erupts for 44 points and makes more NBA history
Russell Westbrook may be Mr. Triple-Double, but LeBron James is flirting with that title, too. On Saturday night he missed a triple-double by one rebound, but his 44 points crumbled the Charlotte Hornets, and his 10 assists earned him some more NBA history.
LeBron is the first front-court player with 27,000 points and 7,000 assists in his career. He's the only player with 27,000 points, 7,000 assists and 7,000 rebounds. Others may follow, but for now there's only one King.
"He passed. He rebounded. He made 3s. He was great going to the basket," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "He was phenomenal. He made three or four 3s that he's going to make. You can't block them. You can't contest them. When he's shooting the ball like that there's nothing you can do, other than blitz, and that's what he wants you to do, and then he really makes you look bad."
LeBron also is climbing the career scoring ranks: On Friday he passed Elvin Hayes for ninth all-time.
After Saturday's win, LeBron joked that he actually had one more rebound than he got credit for. Watch out, Russ. The King wants that fifth MVP, which would tie Michael Jordan and leave him one shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
