New York Knicks guard Kemba Walker had Madison Square Garden rocking Wednesday night. The New York native dropped 44 points on the Washington Wizards.
It was his 19th career game of at least 40 points. His first since January 2020.
Unfortunately for Walker, his efforts didn’t result in a win. Instead, the Wizards pulled away with a 124-117 behind a pair of dagger three-pointers from Kyle Kuzma.
With the loss, Walker’s teams are now 5-14 when he scores 40 or more points, according to ESPN Stats & Info. That’s a winning percentage of .263 which surpasses Bradley Beal (8-22; .267) for the worst record in NBA history in 40-point games — minimum of 10 games.
Beal took over the dubious record after a Feb. 28 loss last season. At the time he dropped to 6-20. Washington has since gone 2-2 in his last 40-point games. Those two wins ultimately proved huge in this essence.
Ironically, it was Beal’s Wizards who handed Walker the pivotal loss. Beal had to watch from afar. The three-time all-star was ruled out for the game after entering COVID-19 protocol.
Walker spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats franchise, two with the Boston Celtics before landing with his hometown Knicks this season.
At one point Walker’s teams were 4-4 in his 40-point games. However, he has now been on the losing end of 10 of his last 11 games when he dropped at least 40 points.
