CNN
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LeBron James knows how to celebrate in style, scoring a season-high 47 points as he inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to a 130-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks on his 38th birthday.
James helped his team come back from 15 points at State Farm Arena and finished the game with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
“I feel better than I did when I was 18,” James told reporters. “At 18 I knew how to play the game, I knew I belonged in the NBA but I didn’t know what I could become. I just knew that [if] I continued to work I continued to be loyal to the game that I could be one of the greatest players to ever play this game I always believed that so there are times when I am on the floor when I feel like a kid again… I wouldn’t say 18, but I definitely felt like a kid again at times on the pitch.
According to Reuters, only two other players have scored more points in a game after turning 38, with Michael Jordan and Jamal Crawford scoring 51 points each.
“A simply brilliant man, he put the team on his back and did what he did for the past 20 years. A hell of a performance,” coach Darvin Ham told reporters when told asked about James.
“Drop 47 [points] is inspiring because he plays the game the right way… He motivates and inspires the team to go out there and do their job.
The Lakers’ Thomas Bryant finished with a season-high 19 points, including 17 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook had 14 points and Dennis Schroder had 12 points.
