Prelude To A Showdown

CLEVELAND - Three nights ago, Kobe Bryant assaulted the New York Knicks for 61 points. Last night, it was LeBron James that went buck wild on the same court, finishing with 52 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

New York hasn't been attacked this bad in years.

Bryant's scintillating performance broke both Bernard King's building record and Michael Jordan's opponent record. It was breathtaking for sure, resulting in a 126-117 Lakers victory. With the Cleveland Cavaliers coming to town, basketball fans salivated at what James might do to top Kobe.

Of course, LeBron has never played the game chasing stats.

When the dust settled last night, MSG had been sprinkled with a healthy dose of LeBron's magical "fairy dust." His game was so on target from the opening tip, that he was actually ahead of Bryant's pace, netting 20 first quarter points. 

Sheesh.

The Cavs won the game, 107-102 in front of a star-studded crowd. Jay-Z, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Diddy and of course, Spike Lee were among the courtside giants to witness LeBron's latest historical feat. By scoring 50 or more, he tied Jordan's mark of being the only opponent in history to score multiple 50-plus point games in this building. MJ turned the trick on opening night in 1986 and again in 1995 in just his fifth game back from his first retirement.

The bigger storyline, in my opinion is the fact that the Lakers will fly to Cleveland for a Sunday matinee. Bryant and James will duke it out on the same court on national television. These two performances this week now seem like finely-tuned warmups for their likely majestic collision.

Of course, both the Lakers and Cavs are excelling at a high level this season, both on pace to eclipse 60 victories overall. It is entirely possible that neither megastar will perform as wondrously as they did on Broadway this week, but don't count on that. This will be a classic matchup however you slice it, whether team-wise or star v.s. star.

Bryant racked up 61 in N.Y., but had zero rebounds and just three assists. James of course, had the first 50 point triple double in 34 years. Expect some version of that trend to continue which should give a really good idea as to who the victor will be.

LeBron will trump Kobe.