NBA FEATS, FACTS AND FIGURES 3: LEBRON'S 51 POINTS IS FIFTH BEST IN NBA FINALS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 Jun 2018
LeBron James became only the sixth player to score at least 50 points in a Finals game during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. With the 124?114 defeat of the Cavaliers to the Warriors, he became the first player to score more than 50 points in the Finals and still lose the game.
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Here are the players who scored 50 points or more during the NBA Finals:
1. Los Angeles' Elgin Baylor: 61 points against Boston in 1962
2. Chicago's Michael Jordan: 55 points against Pheonix in 1993
3. San Francisco's Rick Barry: 55 points against Philadelphia in 1967
4. Los Angeles' Jerry West: 53 points against Boston in 1969
5. Cleveland's LeBron James: 51 points against Golden State in 2018
6. St. Louis' Bob Petit: 50 points against Boston in 1958
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?It was great. I mean, it was epic, and he did enough to carry this team to a victory,? Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue was quoted by CBS Sports. ?But this is LeBron James, that?s who he is. That?s why he?s the best player in the world. ... To do what he did tonight and come out robbed, it?s just not right.?
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?It?s tough to stop him,? Kevin Durant said. ?That?s what he does. He?s been in league so long, doing the same thing. We?ve just gotta make it tougher on him.?
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"It was a crazy game,? said Warriors guard Stephen Curry of Game 1. ?In the Finals, anything is liable to happen.? His long-range shot almost at midcourt beating the buzzet at the end of the half brought the house down. He kept firing those treys in the third quarter, as usual, finishing with 29 points and nine assists. It was a very good indication for Curry to win this year's Finals MVP.
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As for rebounding, the Cavs outboarded the Warriors 53-38. The game had 17 ties and 16 lead changes, including the exciting and peculiar ending of the regulation period.
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"This one?s probably No. 1. This one hurt. This one hurt bad with a lot of things that went on,? said Hill over ESPN, referring to his worst defeats, and rating Thursday?s Game 1 at the top, for a disputed charge reversal in the final minute.
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"It's one of the toughest losses I've had in my career as well because of everything that kind of went on with the game and the way we played," James was quoted by CBS Sports. "Obviously, we all know what happened in the game. So it was a tough 24 hours not only for G-Hill and for myself but for our whole ball club, because we put ourselves in a great position to be successful."
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According to Yahoo! Sports: "In its Last Two Minute Report on officiating, the NBA admitted that Draymond Green committed a lane violation on the decisive George Hill free throw that eventually led to Smith dribbling the ball out of the paint and ending regulation tied 107-107. If the violation had been caught, Hill would have been awarded a new free throw attempt and another chance to give the Cavs the lead."
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After a fracas with 2.6 seconds remaining in Game 1, Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson was ejected for a Flagrant 2, then shoved the basketball into the face of Warriors forward Draymond Green before leaving the court. It later downgraded to a Flagrant 1 and Thompson was fined $25,000 and could still play for Game 2.
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The 50?40?90 club is an informal group of NBA players who have had a shooting percentage of at least 50% for field goals, 40% for three-pointers, and 90% for free throws during the whole NBA regular season while also making the NBA minimum number of shots in each category. A total of seven players have made it as 50?40?90 seasons.
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The 50?40?90 figures show a great all-around shooting ability and is considered the ultimate performance standard for shooters. Only Steve Nash who made it four times and Larry Bird twice have multiple 50?40?90 seasons. Nash's lifetime 49?43?90 average is the closest anyone has come to achieving a career 50?40?90 mark.
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Since the NBA introduced the three-point field goal in the 1979?80 season, the 50?40?90 shooting percentages has been achieved by seven players: Stephen Curry of Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant of Golden State Warriors, Mark Price of Cleveland Cavaliers, Reggie Miller of Indiana Pacers, Steve Nash of Phoenix Suns, Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas Mavericks and Larry Bird of Boston Celtics. Bird was the first to join this club and achieved it twice successively while Nash made it four times in five seasons.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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