Bradley Beal is delighted to be in esteemed company after becoming the first player since the late Kobe Bryant to drop 50-plus points on consecutive nights.
The 26-year-old followed up his 53-point showing in the Washington Wizards' 126-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls with a career-high 55 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Despite Beal's impressive scoring, the Wizards were unable to pull off an upset as they fell to a 137-134 loss to the Eastern Conference leader after overtime, with Khris Middleton pouring in 40 points.
Beal's big game came on the day Bryant was memorialised at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles following his tragic death in a helicopter crash last month.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend was the last player to reach half a century on successive nights in March, 2007, something Beal was not aware of heading into the game. "Oh man, that's crazy," he told NBC Sports Washington . "I didn't know that. That's who Kobe was. That was his drive and that ceremony today just brought the feeling, the tears all back again today."
'Pretty cool'
Beal joins a list of just three players to have scored 53-plus in back-to-back games, alongside James Harden and Wilt Chamberlain. "It's pretty damn cool. That's pretty cool," he is quoted as saying by The Athletic . "I wanna win, but that's a cool attribute.
"Those are two greats, two Hall of Famers for sure. And I'm happy to be in good company. I was just locked in and I was having fun. It was definitely the most fun game I've ever played in."
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