AP

Scoring spree: 50-point games are the rage in NBA right now

Mar 15, 2022, 10:53 AM | Updated: 11:00 pm

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates with forward Kevin Durant, left, after Irving scor...

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates with forward Kevin Durant, left, after Irving scored his 60th point of the game in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)


              Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant reacts during the second half of the NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks at the Barclays Center, Sunday, Mar. 13, 2022, in New York. The Nets defeated the Knicks 110-107. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
            
              Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates with forward Kevin Durant, left, after Irving scored his 60th point of the game in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in  Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
            
              Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns is doused by teammate D'Angelo Russell, rear, after an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, March 14, 2022, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
            
              Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James celebrates his basket against the Toronto Raptors during first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 14, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)after

Turns out, March has more madness than just college basketball.

The NBA is getting a taste as well.

Kyrie Irving’s 60-point barrage at Orlando on Tuesday night was the seventh 50-point effort in the league so far this month — with half of March remaining. His career-best performance came one night after Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns also scored a career-high 60, a number nobody in the league had reached this season until this week.

Even Kevin Durant — one of the most elite scorers ever, someone who had 53 in Brooklyn’s win over New York on Sunday — is marveling at what’s happening right now.

“Sixty, the night after Karl Towns had an incredible performance and then to have Kyrie do it the next night, the league is an amazing place right now,” Durant said. “You’re seeing a lot of talent and skill being displayed, on display, every night. And this was one of the elite ones.”

All of March has been a showcase for the elite ones.

March’s seven 50-point games have come in a span of 11 days. LeBron James started it on March 5 by scoring 56 for the Los Angeles Lakers against Golden State. Jayson Tatum had 54 points for Boston one day later against Brooklyn.

With that, the madness was off and running. Irving had 50 on March 8 at Charlotte. James had 50 again on Friday against Washington. Durant had his 53 on Sunday, Towns answered that with 60 on Monday and Irving then had a 60-point night of his own.

“As you see across the league, guys are just putting up crazy numbers,” Irving said.

It matches the highest number of 50-point games in the same calendar month in the NBA in the last 60 years. August 2020 also had seven 50-point efforts, four of those being playoff games at the restart bubble inside Walt Disney World. There were also seven such games in March 2019.

The last month with more 50-point games in the NBA was nearly six decades ago — all the way back to December 1962. There were nine of them that month, six by Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors, the other three by Elgin Baylor of the Lakers.

Chamberlain had eight all by himself that October. He made 50-point nights look ordinary in those days; the NBA had 19 of them in December 1961, 15 in January 1962 and 12 in February 1962.

They’ve been considerably more sporadic since. That is, until this week.

“I feel like any time I touch the ball, I’m unstoppable,” Towns said after his big night.

These days, he’s not the only one who seems to be that way.

“When you’re a kid, scoring a bunch of points, it means something,” Irving said. “But when you’re in the best league in the world, doing it against the greatest athletes that are playing our game, it means a little bit more.”

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Scoring spree: 50-point games are the rage in NBA right now