For the third time this season, a NBA player has scored 50 points in a single game. On Sunday night, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics accomplished the feat in a 116-111 Celtics win over the Orlando Magic. He follows Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets as the only two other players to reach the half-century mark in total points for one game in 2021-22.
Curry had 50 points in a 127-113 Warriors win over the Atlanta Hawks on November 8. Durant had 51 points in a 116-104 Nets win over the Detroit Pistons on December 12. Curry’s 50 points was significant because he became the oldest player in NBA history with 50 points and 10 assists in one game at 33 years and 239 days old.
Brown also becomes the seventh Celtics player in franchise history to have 50 points in a regular season game. Jayson Tatum had games with 60 points and 53 points last year against the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. Tatum’s 60 points in a 143-140 Boston win over San Antonio tied the Celtics record for most points in a game. When Tatum scored 53 points, he became the youngest Celtics player ever to score 50 points in a game in a 145-136 win over Minnesota. Tatum also scored 50 points in the 7-8 Eastern Conference Play-In Game, in a 118-100 Boston win over the Washington Wizards. However the play-in game was recognized as part of the playoffs, and not the regular season.
The other five Celtics players to have 50 points in a game are Larry Bird (four times), Kevin McHale, Sam Jones, and Isaiah Thomas. Both Thomas and Jones made NBA headlines last week. Thomas signed with the Dallas Mavericks, while Jones died at age 88.
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