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Cavs star scores 50 points and wins standing ovation at Madison Square Garden
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Mar 06, 2008
NEW YORK: His shoes got their attention; his game won their hearts.
LeBron James is now officially a Madison Square Garden legend, taking his place among the elite basketball talents of all-time and numerous other athletes and performers who have left their mark at the world's most famous arena.
No matter what happens the rest of his career, his performance Wednesday will be part of the lore in basketball's capital. James wowed the fickle Big Apple crowd with 50 points and a near triple-double in leading the Cavaliers to a 119-105 win over the Knicks. It got him a standing ovation in the closing seconds, an honor rarely seen for visiting players.
''This ranks real high right now,'' James said of the performance in the context of his career. ''I've dreamed about playing well in this building. To
get a standing ovation in the greatest basketball arena in the world, it is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.''
The Cavs wore their blue uniforms, primarily to match with the New York Yankees tribute version of his Nike shoe. As usual, though, his talent overcame the pomp and circumstance, as he turned it into a real show.
There were so many remarkable aspects of the effort, from the 48 points he scored after the first quarter to the four 3-pointers he made in the final four minutes to the awed fan wearing a James jersey who was taken away by security guards when he charged the Cavs' bench and shook James' hand in the final moments.
''That was a great feeling; he told me he loved the way I played,'' James said. ''I respect him and his pride.''
When asked if he was frightened by the fan, James said, ''Naw, I'm 6-(foot)-9 and 260 pounds.''
James did it in just 30 shots, making 16, and paired it with 10 assists and eight rebounds. When you compute the assists, several of which led to 3-pointers, and the passes that led to fouls and free throws, James' shooting and passing were responsible for nearly 80 points in the game.
By late in the fourth quarter, when the Cavs had overcome the pesky Knicks and their hot shooting to secure their third consecutive win, the fans at the Garden were transfixed on James and the one basket he needed to hit 50. They tensed when he got the ball, let out sighs when he missed, and exploded when a 3-pointer with 1:04 left from the top of the key splashed through to get him to the number.
With 10 seconds left and the game in hand, Cavs coach Mike Brown rushed 10-day contract player Billy Thomas to the scorer's table so that James could be removed from the game and get a hero's ovation.
Most in the crowd thought James had 52 points, which would've been a season high, but a scoring error that accidentally awarded a Devin Brown basket to James in the third quarter was later uncovered. It didn't make a difference. The fifth 50-point game of his career might rank there with his most memorable regular-season performances because of the magnitude of the setting.
James has torched the Knicks' soft defense all season, scoring 45 points in November at home and then 32 points at the Cavs' last visit to the Garden, a 28-point loss, in December. In this one, he did a lot of the damage with rookie Wilson Chandler guarding him. Quentin Richardson, Jared Jefferies and others had failed. But with James making jumpers, there was no Knicks defense that would've worked. He tied his career high by making seven 3-pointers.
''Tonight I got that feeling,'' James said. ''I didn't want to let us not get this win.''
It wasn't exactly the type of team game the Cavs prefer. Brown was sick with the flu and almost didn't coach, but he gutted it out, mostly sitting during the game. What he saw didn't impress him; the Cavs' defense gave up 52 percent shooting.
Eddy Curry and David Lee ripped up the Cavs' interior defense to combine for 37 points.
Anderson Varejao continues to be hampered by his sprained left ankle, hurting his mobility and jumping. Ben Wallace had three blocks, but he, too, was beaten to numerous rebounds and wasn't able to effectively guard the paint. On the outside, Delonte West couldn't handle Nate Robinson, who had 24 points and Jamal Crawford, who had 25, had one of his hot-shooting nights.
Most times, it probably would've meant a Knicks win. But not on this night.
''You can take it for granted if you're not careful because that's who he is,'' Brown said of James. ''He's just a great, great player. I try not to. Coaching a guy like that is probably a once-in-a-lifetime deal. You try to take advantage of every second you're with him.''
Dribbles
The last player with 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a game was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had 50 points, 11 assists and 15 rebounds on Jan. 19, 1975. . . . James on whether he has ever thought about playing for the Knicks: ''No, that might be worse than that fan running out on the court.'' James on whether he's ever thought of leaving the Cavs: ''You don't think about it. I am in a great situation. I am home, my family gets to see me play, the organization has been nothing but great to me. I have no reason to think about going anywhere else at this point.''
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
NEW YORK: His shoes got their attention; his game won their hearts.
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