NBA 50-point games: The highest-scoring outings in 2021-22 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The 50-burger is becoming more and more routine for NBA players these days.
With Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey dropping 51 points against the Orlando Magic on March 17, the league witnessed eight 50-point games in March alone. That’s the most in one month in the NBA since December 1962, when nine players scored at least 50 points in a game.
But the scoring madness extended beyond March. Twelve games have featured 51-plus-point games by a player, and six regular season games had exactly 50.
Let’s look at the highest-scoring games by a player this NBA season:
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns had the first 60-point game this season. Towns converted on 19-of-31 shots from the field, including a 7-of-11 clip from 3-point range. He went 15-of-16 from the charity stripe in a 149-139 win over the San Antonio Spurs. That marked a career-high for the 2015 No. 1 overall pick.
T-1. Kyrie Irving: 60 points, March 15
It took only one day for someone to match Towns’ output. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving also exploded for 60 points in a game where he shot 20-of-31 overall, 8-of-12 from 3-point range and 12-of-13 from the free throw line as the Nets drubbed the Magic 150-108. This outing also marked a career-high for Irving.
T-3. Trae Young: 56 points, Jan. 3
Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young had the highest-scoring game for a little over two months. He went for a career-high 56 points on 17-of-26 shooting overall while making 7-of-12 shots from downtown. He made all 15 of his free throws.
However, the Hawks lost to the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 136-131. Anfernee Simons led Portland with 43 points while Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and ex-Trail Blazer Norman Powell all dropped over 21 points to spoil Young’s record-breaking night.
T-3. LeBron James: 56 points, March 5
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