LeBron James Named NBA Player of the Month

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month presented by Kia for games played Jan. 1 through Jan. 31. James led the league in scoring for the month averaging 32.8 points and adding 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists. James became the first player in NBA history to post at least 31 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals in a game against Charlotte on Jan. 11. On Jan. 15 at Memphis, James scored a season-high 51 points and added eight rebounds and nine assists to make him the first player since Rick Barry in 1978 to post 50 or more points, eight or more rebounds and nine or more assists in a game. Cleveland went 11-3 (.786) in January, their highest winning percentage in a month since February, 1996. In the fourth quarter of games in which James played during the month, he averaged 11.3 points. He posted double-digit scoring in the fourth quarter of six games, including a franchise-record 24 points at Toronto on January 6 and 17 points at Portland on January 30. James has now won the award six times in his career: once this season, once in 2006-07, twice in 2005-06 and twice during the 2004-05 campaign.