At the age of 37, LeBron James continues to keep the upper hand against Father Time while resembling a much younger version of himself.
On Friday night, he exploded for 50 points to propel the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-109 win over the Washington Wizards, and the NBA world couldn’t help but marvel at his prolific game.
At this point, following another 50-point explosion, there is really only one thing left to say about @KingJames: we’re really really going to miss him…..when he’s gone!!!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 12, 2022
LeBron has 50! LeBron is playing to the crowd, screaming he's a bad you-know-what, shaking his head yes-yes-yes! The Lakers are 9 games under .500! They're about to beat the Wizards!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 12, 2022
Another efficient 50 🤝
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) March 12, 2022
The fact that Bron still out here serving these young boys 50 piece wing dinners is beyond me!!! I can’t front @KingJames that was a ART what you displayed tonight. Carry the hell on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 12, 2022
bron 👑 .. 50ball . very efficient too 🔥
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) March 12, 2022
Not mad at that at all. He just went nuclear 🤧
— Mo Bamba (@TheRealMoBamba) March 12, 2022
Bron funny man. #50BurgerwitCheese
— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) March 12, 2022
That 50 Looked EZ !
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) March 12, 2022
Early on, it looked like the Lakers may have been headed for yet another loss. They trailed 59-52 at the half while seemingly lacking energy and flow.
But James sparked them in the third quarter, giving the Lakers the lead for good.
Overall, he hit an incredible 18-of-25 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. It came just days after pouring in 56 points in a win over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
What makes James’ exploits of late all the more impressive is the fact that he has been dealing with a nagging left knee ailment. He showed no ill effects of it on Friday, as he looked very energetic.
This game also pitted Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma against James, with whom they won the 2020 NBA championship as members of the Lakers. Both Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma were sent to Washington in the Russell Westbrook trade prior to this season.
Westbrook played poorly, shooting just 2-of-11, while Kuzma did well with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
The Lakers have a very stiff test coming up, as they will face the Phoenix Suns, who have the best record in pro basketball, on Sunday in Arizona.
