James Awes Knicks Crowd

------------------------------------------------------------------------upi.com
As predicted, the biggest story from the Cavs/Knicks game was about LeBron out dueling Bryant’s 61 point night. James did not surpass Kobe’s 61 points, but he did have a triple-double, which was more impressive than Kobe’s box score. Wait...what I meant to say was LeBron did have a triple-double until the NBA league offices found a statistical error in LeBron’s last rebound on Friday.

With :39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cavalier forward Ben Wallace appeared to have control of a rebound and then passed the ball to James. It may have been a weak pass, but in my opinion, it looked as if the ball bounced off Wallace and into James hands.

When James was asked about the change he said, "I never thought you could look at the box score and see somebody with 50 with a triple-double, but it’s happened."

If the NBA did let the rebound stand, it would have been the first 50-point game in a triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975.

Even without the triple-double, LeBron James had a better night statistically. The stats show more about his game than Kobe’s. That is why LeBron is inching so closely to Kobe as the best player in the NBA.

----------------------------------------------------hoopshype.com

-----------------------LeBron vs. Kobe @ the Garden

James: 52 Points, 11 Assists, *9 Rebounds, 2 Blocks, 0 Steals
Bryant: 61 Points, 2 Assists, 0 Rebounds, 1 Blocks, 0 Steals

*One rebound deducted from James and given to Ben Wallace after review.

We will not have to wait long to debate about these two, because on Sunday, the Lakers will take on the Cavs in Cleveland. All signs are pointing for this to be one of the year’s most anticipated games.

~Sabol