Only four players in 76ers history have scored more than 50 points in a regulation-length game--Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Joe Fulks and Willie Burton. If one of those names seems like it doesn't belong (and Fulks does, even if you don't recognize him--dude was a scoring machine back int he 40s), that's because Burton only played one year in a Sixers uni, and averaged a relatively unremarkable 15 points a game on 40% shooting for the team. But on December 13th, 1994, possibly motivated by playing against the Miami Heat, Burton's old team, Willie went absolutely bonkers, scoring 53 points, beating his previous season high by 26.
Perhaps more remarkable than the 53 points was the fact that Burton scored them on only 19 field goal attempts, of which he made 12, including five threes. The rest came at the line, where Willie set an all-time team record by making 24 shots--no small feat for a team that dressed The Big Dipper for a number of years. Burton also added eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks as the Sixers punished Miami to the tune of 105-90--moving them to a still somewhat lacking 8-11 for the season.
Burton's Game Score for his performance that night is rated by BasketballReference.com as a 49.6--far higher than any game contributed by league MVP David Robinson that season, and over twice as high as any other Burton would post as a Sixer. His performance was ranked in the Great Book of Philly Sports List as one of the top ten "Touched By God" performances by a Philly sports mortal.
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