Kyrie Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns became the first set of players to have 60 point games on consecutive nights since Wilt Chamberlain.
Advertisement
Kyrie Irving has become the go-to player in the league when it comes to putting up efficient, yet high-scoring games, all while putting on an absolute display of offensive mastery. His 50-point game against the Charlotte Hornets saw him decimate their below average defense on an incredible 15-19 shooting clip.
Last night was an even more beautiful display of offensive skill from Kyrie Irving as he had a career-high 60 points against the best defense in the league since the All-Star break. He shot well over 50% from the field, knocking down 20-31 shots from the field.
The night prior to Irving’s 60-piece however, saw Karl-Anthony Towns drop 60 points of his own as well in what was one of the most performances in NBA history. No big man has ever come close to scoring that many points while taking the outside shots KAT took two nights ago.
Towns shot 19-31 from the field but what was more impressive was the fact that he drained 7 shots from beyond the arc on merely 11 attempts. The way in which he used his threat to drive in or step-back for a 3 was beyond masterful.
Kyrie Irving and Karl-Anthony Towns equal a Wilt Chamberlain record.
Doing something that Wilt Chamberlain did during his 1962 campaign means you’re doing something right. During that ‘62 season, two 60-point nights happening back-to-back took place three times. Funnily enough, this only happened during the 1962 season and then never again. Well, until last night.
60-point games have been posted on consecutive days four times in NBA history:
Dec. 8 & 9, 1961
Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor
ChamberlainJan. 13 & 14, 1962
Chamberlain
ChamberlainFeb. 27 & 28, 1962
Chamberlain
ChamberlainMarch 14 & 15, 2022
Karl-Anthony Towns
Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/BcA62IRldx— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) March 16, 2022
What is remarkably absurd is that Wilt Chamberlain kept dropping 60+ points on back-to-back nights during this season. This record essentially exists because Wilt Chamberlain existed.
Among these scoring nights from ‘The Big Dipper’ was a 73 point night, a 78 point night, and several 60s, as expected.