A Look Back: Lebron’s 40-Point Playoff Games From the Last Decade
Lebron James has done the impossible, the improbable and the unbelievable. He brought a championship to The Land, ending the 52 years it had been since we saw a major sports trophy hoisted up in our hands or on our soil.
And Lebron did it in spectacular fashion, recording 41 points in Game 5 and 6, followed by a triple-double in Game 7. His consecutive 41-point games marked just the fifth player in history to record two in a row in the Finals. In honor of that achievement, we take a look back on Lebron’s 40-point playoff games over the last decade:
14. April 28 2006 vs. Washington
In Game 3 of his first playoff series, Lebron James tallied 41 points on 16-28 shooting, 3-5 on threes, 6-9 on free throws, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. James scored two tough shots in the paint in the final minute, including a 4-foot bank shot with 5.7 seconds left that marked his first game-winning shot in the playoffs. His 41 points were a franchise playoff-record at the time.
Final score: 97-96; Cleveland wins Game 3 to go up 2-1
Series: Cleveland wins series 4-2
13. May 31, 2007 vs. Detroit
This is the game where Lebron famously scored Cleveland’s last 25 points in a double-overtime thriller victory. He scored 48 points total on 18-33 shots, 2-3 on threes, 10-14 on free throws. He also notched 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. The Cavs followed up this win with a Game 6 win and reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In doing so, they became just the third team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the conference finals
Final score: 109-107 (2OT); Cleveland wins Game 5 to go up 3-2
Series: Cleveland wins 4-2
12. May 18, 2008 vs. Boston
In this Game 7 duel, Lebron and Paul Pierce each went for 40+ points. James scored 45 points on 14-29 shooting, 3-11 from three, 14-19 free throws. He also tallied 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. The only other Cavs player in double figures was Delonte West with 15.
Final score: 92-97; Cleveland loses Game 7, losing the series 3-4
Series: Boston 4-3
11. May 9, 2009 vs. Atlanta
Lebron scored 47 points on 15-25 field goals, 5-10 three pointers and 12-16 free throws. He added 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block to his monster scoring. The Cavaliers swept the hawks in the series, as they’ve continued to do in each of their playoff meetings thus far.
Final score: 97-82; Cleveland wins Game 3 to go up 3-0
Series: Cleveland wins 4-0
10. May 20, 2009 vs. Orlando
Lebron opened this series by setting a Cavs franchise record of 49 points. He shot 20-30 from the field, 3-6 from three, 6-10 from the free throw line and recorded 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Lebron drove to the basket and scored, drawing a sixth foul on Dwight Howard. He completed the three-point play to take the lead 106-104 but Orlando scored a 3-pointer to win. Orlando had rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit, winning on Cleveland’s floor – just it’s third home loss in 46 home games.
Final score: 106-107; Cleveland loses Game 1 to go down 0-1
Series: Orlando wins 4-2
9. April 19, 2010 vs. Chicago
In this game, Lebron scored 40 points, with 15 in the fourth quarter. He shot 16-23 shooting, 2-4 three pointers, 6-6 free throws and recorded 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. The Cavs led the Bulls 96-93 with 4:30 left in the game when Lebron took over, dropping a three-pointer, two free throws, a layup and two jumpers. He scored 11 straight points to open a 107-98 lead with 1:36 remaining.
Final score: 112-102; Cleveland wins Game 2 to go up 2-0
Series: Cleveland wins 4-1
8. May 20, 2012 vs. Indianapolis
Down 2-1 to Indianapolis in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, Lebron knew he needed a big game to even the series. And he did just that with 40 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He shot 14-27 from the field and 12-16 from the free throw line. Using his monster performance, Miami bounced back to win the next two games and take the series in six.
Final score: 101-93; Miami wins Game 2 to tie the series at 2-2
Series: Miami wins 4-2
7. June 7, 2012 vs. Boston
Down 3-2 and on the brink of elimination, Lebron scored 45 points on a stellar 19-26 shooting performance. He was 2-4 on threes and 5-9 on free throws, while adding 15 rebounds and 5 assists. After the game, Lebron said:
"“In an environment like this, you want to have a big gam. I wanted to be there for my teammates, no matter what was going on throughout the course of the game. This was a gut check for us, and it’s good to see we were able to bounce back after that loss, after that Game 5 loss at home.”"
Final score: 98-79; Miami wins Game 6 to tie the series at 3-3
Series: Miami wins 4-3
6. May 12, 2014 vs. Brooklyn
With a banged up Dwyane Wade and an unproductive Chris Bosh, Lebron turned on his scorer mode for the 2014 playoffs. He notched 49 points on 16-24 shooting, 3-6 on three and 14-19 on free throws. He added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals to his stellar shooting, which matched a career playoff high for James.
Final score: 102-96; Miami wins Game 4 to go up 3-1
Series: Miami wins 4-1
5. June 4, 2015 vs. Golden State
2015 was even tougher for Lebron, who was missing his two sidekicks Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love by the end of the playoffs, both out with season-ending injuries. Despite Irving playing for most of Game 1, eventually going down in overtime, Lebron put up 44 points. But the Warriors withstood his stellar scoring, along with his 8 rebounds and 6 assists, to win the thriller. Lebron shot 18-38 from the field, 2-8 from the three-point arc and 6-10 from the free throw line.
Final score: 100-108 (OT); Cleveland loses Game 1 to go down 0-1
Series: Golden State wins 4-2
4. June 9, 2015 vs. Golden State
Back at home for Game 3 and fueled by the Cleveland crowd, Lebron scored 40 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. He shot 14-34 from the field, 2-6 on threes and 10-12 on free throws. He and Matthew Dellavedova’s 20 points helped the Cavs withstand the Warrior’s fourth quarter comeback to win 96-91. This was the first ever Finals win in Cleveland.
Final score: 96-91; Cleveland wins Game 3 to go up 2-1
Series: Golden State wins 4-2
3. June 14, 2015 vs. Golden State
Two games after dropping 40 points, Lebron did it again in Game 5 of the 2015 NBA Finals, on 15-34 shooting, 3-8 on threes and 7-9 on free throws. He added 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 1 steal to record his second triple-double of the series. But his efforts, along with Tristan Thompson’s19 points and 10 rebounds and J.R. Smith’s 14 points, just weren’t enough for a depleted Cavs team that was simply too tired to stop the Warriors.
Final score: 91-104; Cleveland loses Game 5 to go down 3-2
Series: Golden State wins 4-2
2. June 13, 2016 vs. Golden State
One year later, Lebron found himself in a rematch of the 2015 Finals. Despite a healthy Irving and Love, and a deeper team, the Cavs found were down 3-1. Facing an elimination game on the road in an arena where only 3 home losses had occurred all year, Lebron would not give up.
He had 41 points on 16-30 field goals, 4-8 threes and 5-8 free throws and added16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Irving also added 41 points, marking the first time in NBA Finals history that two teammates scored 40+ points in the same game. Behind this dynamic duo, the Cavs capitalized on the absence of the suspended Draymond Green, and brought the series to 3-2. After the game, Lebron said:
"“We had a mindset that we wanted to come here and just extend our period and have another opportunity to fight for another day. That was our main concern, and we were able to do that.”"
Final score: 112-97; Cleveland wins Game 5 to go to 3-2
Series: Cleveland 4-3
1. June 16, 2016 vs. Golden State
Down 3-2 and still on the brink of elimination, Lebron and the Cavs were also on the brink of history. In Game 6 of the 2016 Finals, Lebron had 41 points (on 16-27 shooting, 3-6 on threes and 6-8 on free throws), 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Nobody in the history of the game had ever recorded that stat line, in the playoffs or regular season. He was also just the fifth player in NBA history to have consecutive 40-point games in the NBA Finals.
Final score: 115 101; Cleveland wins Game 6 to tie the series at 3-3
Series: Cleveland 4-3
In total, Lebron James won 10 of the 14 games in which he scored 40. He went on to win nine of the 14 series. His last five 40-point games came against Golden State. Two of these 40-point games came in the 2016 NBA Finals, which propelled the Cavs to a Game 7, becoming the 3rd team in Finals history to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-1. They went on to win Game 7 – behind a Lebron triple-double – and became the first team in history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, giving the city of Cleveland its first major sports championship in 52 years.
All hail the King.