LeBron James torches the Magic for 51 points (Part -1)
On Thursday night in Orlando’s own backyard, James pulled off one of the most sensational performances witnessed this season. LeBron, who is touted as the best the league has to offer, certainly lived up to his reputation. James hammered 51 points, 10 rebounds
and 8 dimes as he single-handedly propelled Miami Heat to a 104-100 win over the Magic. This is their fourth win in a row.
The Magic organization was at the forefront of ridiculing LeBron, when he decided to move from Cleveland to South Beach. Miami general manger, Otis Smith, had said at the time, "I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor."
Although the situation has simmered down drastically since then, it was a different story when the teams stepped onto the court in the first two encounters of the season. James ended up sending the Magic a timely reminder on Wednesday that all has not been
forgotten or forgiven.
Unfortunately, the Magic never listened.
It was a season high for James, whose scoring prowess tied for the fifth most points of his career. James' 51 points are the most anybody has achieved this season, surpassing the previous best 47-point endeavors by Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Blake
Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. It was the ninth 50-point game of James' career. Dwyane Wade added 14 points and Chris Bosh chipped in 13 points, as the Miami Heat nearly coughed up a 23 point second half advantage down the stretch.
"I definitely was in a zone and felt like everything I put up was going to go in. I was happy that we were able to come out fast and get a lead on this team because we needed every point.” James said after the match, "Just playing this team got me going,
we understand that it wasn't just any regular-season game. There were a lot of things said about us in the offseason that came from this organization. So we just wanted to come in here and play to our abilities and make a statement."
For the Magic, starting guard Jameer Nelson topped the scoring with 22 points, six boards and six assists. Dwight Howard played for the whole duration of the game. The burly centre however could only manage 17 points as he drained 13 of his 16 free throw
attempts. Howard was at his rebounding best, grabbing 16 off the glass.
Jason Richardson got his fifth start since joining the Orlando roster and has continued his excellent form. The nine-year veteran guard notched up double figures for the 19th time in the last 22 games as he finished with 18 points. Gilbert Arenas
had 10 points off the bench while swingman Hedo Turkoglu finished with 13 points.
The Orlando Magic shot poorly, with 42.4 percent from the field, compared to Miami’s 50 percent shooting. They also performed miserably from the foul line with 16-of-31 baskets. Their cold shooting eventually proved to be their undoing as their surge in
the fourth quarter just fell short of toppling the Heat.
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