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It was a scoring spree Friday night around the NBA with five players reaching the 40-point plateau and another three players coming within five points of that mark. Maybe it can be chalked up to everyone wanting to stamp the end of 2022 with an exclamation mark, because several of these guys were just unstoppable on the second to last day of the year. 

It was the most players to score at least 40 points on a single night this season, matching the feat last achieved on Dec. 23, exactly one week ago. (More on that later.)

With so many high-scoring affairs from some of the league's brightest stars it seems appropriate to highlight all the 40-point performances Friday night. But first, honorable mentions go out to Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (37 points), New Orleans Pelicans' Zion Williamson (36 points) and Toronto Raptors' Gary Trent Jr. (35 points) who also had standout nights. Now onto the main event, starting with a birthday performance for the ages.  

LeBron racks up 47 birthday points

James is already one of 11 players in NBA history to play until they're 38 years old, so everything he does from here on out is going to be in a class of its own. But Friday night, the four-time champion scored 47 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 130-121 road win against the Atlanta Hawks on his 38th birthday. 

James joined Michael Jordan as the only other player in NBA history to record at least 45 points, 10 rebounds and five assists at 38 years of age, and his 47 points is the third-highest point total for a player after turning 38 years old. James' scoring outburst gives him career 303 points scored on his birthday, surpassing Oscar Robertson who's now second all time with 275.

Giannis has second-straight 40/20/5 game

Recording one 40-point, 20-rebound, five-assist performance wasn't enough for Antetokounmpo this week, so he went and did it for a second-straight game with 43 points, 20 rebounds and five assists in a 123-114 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Antetokounmpo joins Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic as the only players this season to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, and all of those performances happened within the last two weeks. Antetokounmpo also became the first since Moses Malone back in 1982 to have back-to-back 40/20 games, and he joined Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only other players in league history to post back-to-back 40/20/5 games.

Zach LaVine comes alive with 43 vs. Pistons

It was a season-high 43 points for LaVine, his second 40 piece of the month, in a 132-118 win against the Detroit Pistons. After the game, DeMar DeRozan said of LaVine's performance "That's the Zach we all know," which you would typically say after someone has been in a shooting slump, but LaVine's had an incredibly efficient month, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point territory. But LaVine's scoring spree was a positive sign for a 16-19 Bulls team that has had a disappointing start to the season. LaVine isn't going to break the 40-point barrier every night, but it's always a nice reminder that he's very much still capable of taking a game over when Chicago needs it.

CJ McCollum sets Pelicans 3s record with 42 points

Here's McCollum's 3-pointer that set the Pelicans single-game record with 11 3s:

In case you didn't think McCollum was still capable of torching a team from downtown, he certainly reminded everyone he can in New Orleans' 127-116 win against the Sixers. The 42 points is also the most McCollum has scored as a member of the Pelicans, but is shy of his career-high of 50 points. Following McCollum's record night, Zion Williamson, who had 36 points of his own, said of his teammate's performance: "None of the threes looked forced. That's what made it look beautiful." Williamson's not wrong, it wasn't as if McCollum was stat padding and jacking up shots, every one of his shots was needed in a closely contested matchup against the Sixers.

Jordan Poole's 41 lifts Warriors over Trail Blazers

Golden State needed all of Poole's 41 points to fend off Portland in a 118-112 win to give the Warriors a four-game winning streak. Poole shot a ridiculous 14 of 23 from the field and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. It was Poole's second career 40-point game, the other one coming earlier this month when he racked up 43 points. With Stephen Curry still sidelined, Golden State needs these type of performances from Poole who will once again make it difficult for Steve Kerr to move back to the bench once the Warriors are healthy again. 

Back on Dec. 23, the five players who scored at least 40 points on the same night were the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (50 points), New York Knicks' RJ Barrett (44 points), Embiid (44 points), Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (44 points) and Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton (43 points). And for you schedule watchers out there, eight of these teams will be in action on Friday, Jan. 6 -- so who knows what comes next?