Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors has joined some elite company.
Add Ross to the list of those who are impossible to guard as he, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant are the only three players to score 50+ this season. Ross dropped 51 points in a 126-118 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Toronto.
Ross, Anthony and Durant have all scored 50+ points in this historic month of January. Ross’ 51 point game is the most interesting of the three, as his reputation in the NBA has not been that of a scoring machine. He was averaging 9.3 ppg before tonight’s game and only scored a total of 56 points in his previous seven games. His previous career high was 26 points.
Ross tied Vince Carter’s franchise-record with his performance tonight. He also becomes the first player in NBA history to have a 50 point game while averaging less than 10 ppg. Bravo, Mr. Ross.
The last time the NBA had consecutive days with a 50-point scorer? March 13-14, 2009: LeBron James (51) & Dwyane Wade (50)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 26, 2014
Lets keep this in mind folks: all three of these 50+ point games have happened in an eight-day span (Durant’s 54 last Friday in Golden State, Anthony’s 62 last night at MSG). Has defense become optional in the NBA? Or have some NBA players found Michael Jordan’s secret stuff? Whatever the case, we know LeBron James has been watching.
Should we expect a big game from LeBron in the near future to close out the month? We aren’t sure, but this January has been one to remember with these ridiculous scoring numbers. Congrats to Terrence Ross on the big night!
-Patrick Hazel (@pattywack25)
