LeBron James Put The Cavaliers On His Back With A Massive 57-Point Performance Vs. The Wizards

The Cleveland Cavaliers were a shocking 3-5 heading into Friday night’s marquee matchup with the Washington Wizards. Prior to tipoff, the Wizards were talking a big game, too, with John Wall claiming that the Cavaliers intentionally tanked for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference last season so they could avoid playing the Wizards in round two. Whether Wall’s comments fueled James on Friday night is something we’ll never know, but LeBron put the Cavaliers on his back with an incredible 57-point performance leading to a huge win in Washington, and that’s a fact.

The Cavaliers had been taking heat from every direction through the first several weeks of the 2017-18 NBA season, some of which was deserved. They just haven’t played well, particularly on defense, and while they’ve been hit with the injury bug as bad as any other team in the NBA, when you’ve got LeBron James in a weak Eastern Conference, playing below .500 is unacceptable. To the Cavaliers’ credit, they’ve taken a lot of responsibility for their poor play. Ty Lue has been willing to tinker with his rotation. LeBron James has been willing to handle the ball more. They’re trying.

Despite Cleveland’s early-season struggles, everyone knew a game like this was coming. It was inevitable. You can only keep LeBron down for so long, and James responded to all the criticism and all the noise with one of the best performances of his Hall-of-Fame career.

On Friday night in Washington, James gave the Cavaliers 57 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and two blocks on 23-of-34 shooting in 43 minutes. The Cavs defeated the Wizards 130-122, snapping Cleveland’s four-game losing streak. To make the performance even more special for LeBron, he also scored his 29,000 career NBA point, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to hit that mark.

James gave the Wizards the full LeBron experience. He bullied smaller players in the post, he used his athleticism for multiple above-the-rim finishes, he played smothering defense, and he even showed off his shooting touch, draining 2-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. You can probably boil down his dominance to this one highlight.

With the Wizards mounting a late comeback, James went back in the post for an and-one that essentially sealed the deal for Cleveland.

The postgame scene was almost as interesting as James’ 57-point performance. James stuck around for the Cleveland fans in D.C., posing for pictures and signing autographs, almost as if to remind Washington that this is still his conference, and he just beat you in your own house.

The drama didn’t end there, however. As LeBron James was leaving the court and heading back into the locker room, the cameras followed him for what was a rare post-game interview during his tunnel walk. It was fascinating in that I can’t recall ever seeing anything quite like it.

“I had to do what I had to help us get off this losing streak. I ain’t about losing. Y’all know me. You’ve known me for a long time in this league, I ain’t about losing. It ain’t about talking about it. It’s about making it happen, and that’s what I had to do.” LeBron would later add “This is the best I’ve felt in my career right now, so, you know, I just got to keep it going.”

It felt like a special performance, for whatever that indescribable feeling is worth. The Cavaliers needed this, LeBron James needed this, and if this is really the best James has ever felt, you’d be wise to not count Cleveland out this season.