MILWAUKEE - How long can you hold your breath? At the Bradley Center on Friday evening, a full 18,076 people, myself included, simultaneously had their breath taken away for at least two minutes and 16 seconds.

That is how long it took for the greatest player in the world to accumulate 16 points. It was a mesmerizing, sublime, even dizzying display of basketball euphoria that lifted far above the Bucks and all of the preceding superlatives.

Switched up my script, I'll say. After yet another highly inspiring 20 minutes of basketball by an injury-depleted Milwaukee squad, I had vowed to write a dozen reasons why the NBA is such a unique and wonderful game. This was great, uplifting stuff, and I had a solid start on the story. The best part was, just to prove how many wonderful things there really were, I would do it all without even mentioning the game's premier player.

LeBron James. LeBron James. LeBron James. LeBron James. LeBron James. LeBron James.

Yeah, I'm going to save that idea for another night.

The game started innocently enough. James was his usual threatening self, but the Bucks not only kept pace, they carried a lead for most of the first half. The large, boisterous crowd grew prideful with claps when rookie second-round pick Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and team defenseman picked James at halfcourt and drove for an emphatic slam with 37 seconds to go in the half.

That prompted a loud redemption song that reverberated throughout the basketball nation and is still ringing in Milwaukee's ears.

On the next possession, The King pulled up a few feet behind the three-point line for a triple. Then Cleveland got the ball back with four seconds, just enough time for LeBron to dribble down the floor and nail a deep, bank three at the buzzer.

That invigorated James with most momentous momentum. He coolly opened the second half by hitting four more three-pointers bookended by a pair of 15-footers in a breathtaking two minutes and 16 seconds.

The story deserved a slightly better ending. Charlie Villanueva chipped in 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists before his ejection in the fourth quarter after a confrontation with Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The official's decision to throw out Villanueva was harsh, especially in light of overturning the decision to eject Ilgauskas. The Bucks played valiantly, and with Villanueva, may have pushed the Cavaliers down to the final minute, perhaps even drawing even. If only we were so lucky to have overtime and bonus-LeBron on the cold Wisconsin night turned hot and heated.

Forty LeBron minutes, though, was plenty of time to secure an exhilarating 55 points and another chapter in basketball lore. The barrage of three-pointers was a takeover so thorough that it reminded of his Game 5 performance against Detroit when he scored the team's final 25 points.

In his heavy catalog of career highlights, this was one of LeBron's best yet, something even he couldn't help but admit in the locker room following the game.

"It's probably in the top two individually performing games I've had," James told reporters.

And consider: The highest flying, most dominant player in the world going to the hoop snapped in the 16 points in a few blinks without getting anywhere near the rim. Just as it would be an understatement to say James is one of the best players on the planet, it was an understatement for LeBron to say:

"Every shot I took from the field felt pretty good."

The shots looked more than pretty good from this observer. That's why it's amazing that a player so very deadly shooting found time to deal nine assists. Ever the ideal teammate, James dished at least nine assists along with at least 52 points for the second time this month. Against the Knicks on Feb. 4 he had 52 and 11. Friday, he finished with 55 and nine.

It turns out that James, all by himself, gave me more than a dozen reasons why the NBA is so wonderful. After this game I need air though, so I won't hold my breath that he'll fail to top this sometime next week.

Alex Boeder co-authors BrewHoop, a Milwaukee Bucks blog. He is also currently a media relations intern with the Milwaukee Brewers and has written for the Brewers, SLAM Online, 540 ESPN Radio, KFFL, and more. He can be reached at adboeder@gmail.com.