LeBron James scores season-high 46 points in victory over Cleveland Cavaliers

On the anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s tragic death, LeBron James put on a masterclass performance to snare an unlikely victory.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James put on a masterclass performance against his former franchise during Tuesday’s 115-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 16-time NBA All-Star scored a season-high 46 points shooting at 73 per cent during the narrow victory, also contributing eight rebounds, two steals, two blocks and six assists.

Trailing at three-quarter time, the defending champions pulled off a late comeback to extend their unbeaten record on the road this season to 10-0.

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James scored 21 of the Lakers’ 28 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven three-pointers, including one ludicrous bomb from the centre-court logo in the final five minutes.

#LogoBron strikes again. 👑 pic.twitter.com/mYVHbyFERY

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 26, 2021

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said: “Pretty awesome just to see that he can still turn it up like that.

“The shot-making was just ridiculous. Just one of those nights for the ages for him.

“If I’m playing against him, I’m not really sure how I’m trying to slow him down.”

As revealed by ESPN, James (36 years, 26 days) is now the oldest Lakers player to manage a 40-point game since Kobe Bryant scored 60 in his final career game at 37 years, 234 days.

Tuesday’s game took place on the one-year anniversary of Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash.

“It’s not a day remembrance like his birthday,” Vogel said. “It’s more of a sombre-tone-type-of-day.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 2000 fans were in attendance for James’ highly-anticipated homecoming at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where he won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.

LeBron James. Still the best player in the NBA right now.

— Jason Nicholas (@JasonNweather) January 26, 2021

Lebron had #kobe in him tonight 🙏🏾

— Rayan Lawrence (@RayanLawrence) January 26, 2021

Lebron 👑

— TyDolla $ign (@tydollasign) January 26, 2021

That was a casual 46 point from LeBron. That was...UNREAL#LALvsCLE

— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) January 26, 2021

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American sports columnist Skip Bayliss tweeted: “LeBron, back in the house that he built, where he won (and lost) so many playoff games, played inspired tonight in Cleveland, caught a rare hot streak from three, had a huge 4th quarter and held off what’s left of his ‘hometown’ team. Crown him!”

Lakers power forward Anthony Davis mustered 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Andre Drummond scored a team-high 25 points for the Cavaliers.

With their 14th victory of the season, the Lakers retained top spot on the Western Conference ladder, and will next face the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday morning AEDT.

Originally published as LeBron James scores season-high 46 points in victory over Cleveland Cavaliers