LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, LeBron again and Kevin Durant each scored 50 in a game. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 60. Up again, Irving scored 50 by the middle of the third quarter and finished with 60. Even Saddiq Bey scored 50.
The NBA has produced eight 50-point games in the previous 13 days – a historic scoring binge.
The only other time players had so many 50-point games within two weeks was the 1961-62 season, when there were several overlapping high-scoring outbursts. The peak: Eleven 50-point games in 13 days in December 1961. Whichever way you slice it, Wilt Chamberlain had most of the qualifying games in any stretch of at least eight 50-point games in two weeks. Elgin Baylor, Bob Pettit and Jerry West also contributed.
Aside from 1961-62 (when Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game) and 1962-63 (when Chamberlain averaged 45 points per game), there had never been even six 50-point games within two weeks.
Again, the recent spree has covered just 13 days. With a dozen games tonight, the two-week total could climb even higher.
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NBA in 50-point flurry unseen in decades originally appeared on NBCSports.com