Which player has the most points in a loss in the NBA Finals?

LeBron's 51 points in Game 1 are the most ever by player in an NBA Finals loss.

Interpreted as:

Which player has the most points in a loss in a game in the NBA Finals?

	NAME	DATE	TM	OPP	PTS	L	MIN	REB	AST	STL	BLK	3PM	FG%	FT%	TO	FGM	FGA	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	PF
1	LeBron James	5/31/2018	CLE	@ GSW	51	1	47.6	8	8	1	1	3	59.4	90.9	5	19	32	7	42.9	10	11	2
2	Jerry West	4/22/1966	LAL	vs. BOS	45	1	47	4	10				61.3	70.0		19	31			7	10	2
3	Jerry West	4/19/1965	LAL	@ BOS	45	1	45	5	5				44.7	91.7		17	38			11	12	2
4	LeBron James	6/4/2015	CLE	@ GSW	44	1	45.8	8	6	0	0	2	47.4	60.0	4	18	38	8	25.0	6	10	2
5	Shaquille O'Neal	6/6/2001	LAL	vs. PHI	44	1	52	20	5	1	0	0	60.7	45.5	4	17	28	0		10	22	3
6	Michael Jordan	6/13/1993	CHI	vs. PHX	44	1	57	9	6	2	1	3	44.2	50.0	3	19	43	9	33.3	3	6	5
7	Rick Barry	4/24/1967	SFW	vs. PHI	44	1	44	6	2				42.1	92.3		16	38			12	13	5
8	Russell Westbrook	6/19/2012	OKC	@ MIA	43	1	45.5	7	5	1	0	0	62.5	100.0	3	20	32	3	0.0	3	3	3
9	Isiah Thomas	6/19/1988	DET	@ LAL	43	1	44	3	8	6	1	2	56.3	71.4	5	18	32	3	66.7	5	7	4
10	John Havlicek	4/25/1969	BOS	@ LAL	43	1	48	12	6				55.6	92.9		15	27			13	14	6
11	Rick Barry	4/20/1967	SFW	vs. PHI	43	1	45	7	3				41.5	75.0		17	41			9	12	5
12	Charles Barkley	6/11/1993	PHX	vs. CHI	42	1	46	13	4	1	1	0	61.5	83.3	2	16	26	1	0.0	10	12	3
13	Jerry West	5/5/1969	LAL	vs. BOS	42	1	48	13	12				48.3	77.8		14	29			14	18	2
14	LeBron James	6/12/2017	CLE	@ GSW	41	1	46.2	13	8	2	1	2	63.3	25.0	2	19	30	5	40.0	1	4	3
15	Michael Jordan	6/18/1993	CHI	vs. PHX	41	1	44	7	7	0	2	2	55.2	70.0	2	16	29	7	28.6	7	10	5
16	Elgin Baylor	4/18/1962	LAL	@ BOS	41	1	51	22	4				32.5	71.4		13	40			15	21	6
17	LeBron James	6/14/2015	CLE	@ GSW	40	1	44.8	14	11	1	0	3	44.1	77.8	2	15	34	8	37.5	7	9	5
18	James Worthy	6/13/1989	LAL	vs. DET	40	1	46	3	3	0	3	2	65.4	66.7	1	17	26	3	66.7	4	6	3
19	Julius Erving	6/5/1977	PHI	@ POR	40	1	43	6	8	2	1		58.6	85.7		17	29			6	7	2
20	Jerry West	4/29/1969	LAL	@ BOS	40	1	45	6	4				50.0	100.0		15	30			10	10	4
21	Bob Pettit	4/9/1961	STL	vs. BOS	40	1	46	18	4				60.9	100.0		14	23			12	12	4
22	Cliff Hagan	4/5/1961	STL	@ BOS	40	1	48	17	6				57.1	88.9		16	28			8	9	4
23	LeBron James	6/7/2017	CLE	vs. GSW	39	1	45.6	11	9	1	1	4	55.6	83.3	5	15	27	9	44.4	5	6	2
24	Michael Jordan	6/5/1992	CHI	vs. POR	39	1	50	5	10	1	0	0	50.0	77.8	5	16	32	4	0.0	7	9	5
25	Bob Pettit	4/13/1957	STL	@ BOS	39	1	56	19	3				41.2	84.6		14	34			11	13	4