05 February,2009 11:33 AM IST | | AFP
LeBron James poured in 52 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds yesterday, his 21st career triple-double propelling Cleveland to a 107-102 National Basketball Association victory over the New York Knicks.
James's star turn in the Big Apple came in the wake of Kobe Bryant's 61-point outburst for the Lakers against the Knicks two nights earlier.
James posted his second 50-point effort at Madison Square Garden in less than a year, after he notched exactly 50 in a win over the Knicks last March.
Even so, the Knicks team stung by Bryant on Monday kept it close, James pulling out every play in the book to keep them at bay.
James scored from all over the floor through the first three quarters, then attacked the paint in the final period.
Nate Robinson's short jumper with just under five minutes left to play pulled the Knicks to within one, but James responded moments later with a driving layup to extend the lead to three.
New York's Al Harrington, who scored 39 points on 16-of-24 shooting, answered with a jumper of his own, but James was on the attack once again on the other end, this time drawing contact and draining a pair of free throws.
With just over two minutes remaining, David Lee sank two free throws to cut the Knicks' deficit to 100-99.
But James exploded into the lane once again for an easy lay-up.
James finished 17-of-33 from the floor and 16-of-19 from the free-throw line.
Like Bryant on Monday, James was well aware that big nights are even bigger in a venue with the history of Madison Square Garden.
"The history of this arena has seen great players and great things come through the Garden," James said.
Even Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni couldn't begrudge the cheers fans offered to the opposing stars.
"My mouth was open, too, with some of the stuff he was doing," D'Antoni said. "Now our job is to make the Knicks so good that they'll be cheering us and they won't care who comes in here because we're the best people on the floor."
