Lou Williams has always had the ability to drop buckets at a moment's notice. He won a Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Raptors thanks largely to his ability to score off the bench. With the Clippers that has been his primary role and he has thrived in it all season.
In Wednesday night's matchup against the Warriors it all exploded into a career night for Williams. With Golden State minus Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Williams had a 27-point third quarter. He finished the game with 50 points in a 125-106 Clippers victory.
Lou Williams filled it up for the @LAClippers, posting a career-high 50 PTS, 7 AST as they beat the @warriors in Oakland!
— NBA (@NBA) January 11, 2018
Tyrone Wallace: 22 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST
Montrezl Harrell: 14 PTS, 7 REB
Kevin Durant: Season-high 40 PTS pic.twitter.com/AAMKTC0bJE
It's not often someone can say they outscored Kevin Durant on a night the one-time MVP scored 40 points, but it's also not often that someone scores 50 points in an NBA game. This puts him an exclusive club of scorers that not everybody can reach. It will certainly help his chances at signing a contract extension, as Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports notes.
Sources: Lou Williams and the Clippers have recently engaged in contract extension discussions, but no deal's formed as sides evaluate positions. Williams went for 50 points against the Warriors in Oakland tonight. He's eligible for an extension during season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 11, 2018
This is something Williams always had in him, but he's the type of player that needed the perfect storm to reach it. An injured Clippers team that needs him to gun his way to victory along with a single-quarter scoring outburst? Yep, that's about as perfect as it gets.