LeBron James And His 61 Points Of Madness

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There's something about those Charlotte Bobcats where NBA magic always seems to happen at their expense. Earlier this season, Carmelo Anthony set a career and franchise high for the New York Knicks as he dominated his way to a 62-point performance. As single-game performances would go this season, Melo provided one of the lone bright spots for the Knicks. Unfortunately, when your team is 21-40, it's easy to forget as the NBA gears into its playoff story lines.

Enter LeBron Raymone James.

No one expected the best player in the world to have anything more than a good game against the Bobcats. It was only a Monday night match-up, just one of many minor footnotes as we speed through the final weeks of the regular season. It was supposed to be just another game. You know, nothing too out of the ordinary. After four completely regular quarters, the player known as King James was able to rest easy with a modest stat line.

61 points, shooting 22 for 33 from the field and 8 for 10 from the three-point line.

I guess I should have mentioned that when I said modest, I meant from an all-time perspective. Last night, LeBron didn't just top his own personal career high, but he also set the new franchise record for the Miami Heat. The previous record of 56 points (which coincidentally was Bron's own career high) was set by Glen Rice on April 15, 1995, against the Orlando Magic.

All that talk of Kevin Durant running away with the MVP award this season must have lit a fire in James, as this performance served as his declaration to all who think he's out of the race. As long as he's still the best in the world, he's as much a part of the MVP discussion as anyone else.

Despite the fact that the Charlotte Bobcats are actually one of the better teams in the NBA defensively (top five even), LeBron basically did whatever he wanted to them last night. Whether it was putting poor Michael Kidd-Gilchrist through the ringer or making his first eight three-point shot attempts, the four-time MVP appeared unstoppable at times.

Truthfully, the only time he appeared mortal during the game was once he reached 57 points and was on the verge of crossing the pantheon of greatness. The two missed three-pointers came as a result of James clearly trying to reach the 60-point mark, which would have been all the more incredible had he shot 100 percent from long range. Nonetheless, he still captured his moment with a 12-point fourth quarter, becoming one of only five players to score more than 60 points while shooting 65 percent.

History was made, and MVP bids are once again shifting favor. Job well done, LeBron. Job well done.

Previously: American Dad - LeBron James
Related: A Complete History Of LeBron James Not Competing In The NBA Slam Dunk Contest

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