How about that Kobe?

[ARod2212]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5270892

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant kept shooting, from all over the court and from every angle.

The Los Angeles Lakers' star scored a staggering 81 points Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors in a 122-104 win. Only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game stands ahead of him.

 

"It just happened, man" Bryant said. "It really hasn't, like, set in for me. It's about the 'W,' that's why I turned it on. It turned into something special.

"To sit here and say I grasp what happened, that would be lying. Not even in my dreams."

The NBA's leading scorer left to a standing ovation with 4.2 seconds remaining, having shot 28-of-46 from the floor, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range and 18-of-20 from the foul line.

With the fans at Staples Center chanting "MVP! MVP!" Bryant made two free throws with 43.4 seconds remaining for his final points. He scored 27 points in the third quarter, 28 in the fourth.

"It feels great to put on a great show here," he said.

Chamberlain scored 100 points for Philadelphia against the New York Knicks at Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962, making 36-of-63 from the field and 28-of-32 from the foul line while playing all 48 minutes.

Chamberlain had 59 points in the second half - the only player with more points in a half than Bryant's 55 after halftime in this game.

Chamberlain's second-highest total was 78 against the Lakers in three overtimes on Dec. 8, 1961.

Elgin Baylor held the previous franchise record of 71 points at New York on Nov. 15, 1960. Lakers assistant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, saw that game, too.

"Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without 3-point lines. His game was attacking the hoop and hitting jumpers inside 20 feet. Kobe's range is unreal, and he does it his way," Abdul-Jabbar said.

"It was a real treat. His ability to shoot from long range and also attack the hoop, split the defense and get in close for opportunities near the basket is unique. He's made a niche for himself and he deserves it."

Michael Jordan's career high was 69 points, and only four players had ever scored more than 70 - Chamberlain, Baylor, David Thompson and David Robinson.

The 27-year-old Bryant made it five. His previous career high was 62 points during a 112-90 victory over Dallas last month - he sat out the fourth quarter because of the one-sided nature of the game.

"I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned into what was going on out there," Bryant said. "These points tonight mattered. We needed them. The points I put in the basket were instrumental. It means a lot more."

Bryant raised his scoring average to an NBA-leading 35.9 points this season.

"I never imagined I would see history like that," said Devean George, a teammate of Bryant's with the Lakers for 6 1/2 seasons. "I can't tell you where that came from. He just kept attacking, attacking, attacking - every time he got the ball."

Bryant played nearly 42 minutes, going the entire second half until being lifted by coach Phil Jackson.

Jackson coached Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s and the Lakers, with Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, to three more titles, from 2000-02.

"That was something to behold," Jackson said. "It was another level. I've seen some remarkable games, but I've never seen one like that before."

Bryant's performance came on the same night the NBA had its highest-scoring game in 11 years when Seattle beat Phoenix 152-149 in two overtimes. The last 300-point game in the league came when Dallas beat Houston 156-147 in two overtimes on April 11, 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"You're sitting and watching, and it's like a miracle unfolding in front of your eyes and you can't accept it," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said. "Somehow, the brain won't work. The easiest way to look at it is everybody remembers every 50-point game they ever saw. He had 55 in the second half."

Lamar Odom's 3-pointer with 7:04 remaining gave the Lakers a 100-93 lead, and Bryant scored 30 seconds later to give him 61 points and his team a nine-point advantage. The Raptors didn't pose a serious threat after that.

Bryant scored all but 15 of the Lakers' 42 points in the third quarter, shooting 11-of-15 including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Six of his points came during a 12-0 run to finish the period, giving Los Angeles a 91-85 lead.

The Lakers outscored the Raptors 38-14 to finish the third quarter to go ahead for good. They trailed by as many as 18 points early in the period, angering Bryant.

"He was ticked off," Odom said.

When asked what Bryant said at that stage, Odom replied: "Nothing. That's when it's bad."

Bryant scored 51 points after the Raptors took a 71-53 lead. It was 63-49 at halftime.

"The thing about him that is most amazing is that he is relentless," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "We played man-to-man, box-in-one and zone. We tried to put smaller guys on him to deny him the ball.

"I saw that game he had against Dallas where he scored 62, what more can you say?"

Smush Parker added 13 points and Chris Mihm had 12 points and six rebounds for the Lakers.

Mike James led Toronto with 26 points and 10 assists. Chris Bosh added 18 points and eight rebounds and Jalen Rose scored 17 points for the Raptors.

Notes

 

Bryant scored a season-low 11 points in the Lakers' 102-91 victory over the Raptors in Toronto last month. He had 14 in the first quarter of this game. ... Bryant has led the Lakers in scoring in the last 21 games in which he's played. He entered with an NBA-leading 34.8-point average, and is averaging 45.5 points in 10 games since sitting out a two-game suspension. ... Toronto C Rafael Araujo, who has made 30 starts this season, missed his second straight game and third of the season because of a sore right shoulder. ... Bryant made his first five foul shots before missing late in the second quarter, snapping his streak of consecutive made free throws at 62. Michael Williams made an NBA-record 93 straight for Minnesota in 1993. ... Bryant received a technical foul with 10:44 left - shortly after being accidentally struck above the right eye.

 

 

 

Just an insane performance. Maybe against a team like the Suns he could make a real run at Wilt:dunno:

[schillingouttheks]

Merge thread time?

[See Red]

All things considered... best single game performance in NBA History. Yes, better than Wilt's, considering how difficult it is for a Guard to do it. Just think, if he didn't sit the entire fourth quarter against Dallas about a month back, he could've made a run at two 80 point games in the same season.

[ARod2212]

55 points in the second half.. that makes it a legitimate argument to think that he could make a run at Wilt.

[jimmycarter05]

Ballhog.

[See Red]

Him with the ball in his hands gives his team the best chance to win. All this 'ball hog' talk has happened over the past two years, when all he did last year was set a career high in assists, and this year, he's been right on his average.

[RedSoxRooter]

He totally raped Toronto.

[yankeessuck013]

I hardly put up 46 shots just shooting around in the gym.

 

As a person I think Kobe is an egomaniacal ass, but this is a game our kids will be asking about.

 

Probably had to check into a hotel after the game to "unwind"

[yankeessuck013]

Ballhog.

 

Two years ago when Kobe wasn't scoring as much but was dishing the ball off to his teammates people said he was being an ass because he was passing up open shots. If he shoots alot he is selfish.

 

If Michael Jordan had done something this amazing you guys would be going nuts, saying this was the greatest performance ever by the best player ever.

Big time double standard among basketball fans. Jordan was perceived as a media darling when in all reality he is a bigger egotistical ass then Kobe is. There are countless stories of Jordan shunning autographs for kids, not being charitable etc., while Kobe is a willing signer for kids and does all kinds of community oriented events, yet Jordan is a God and Kobe is selfish.

 

Proof of a double standard, Jordan took 24,537 shots in a 15 year NBA career, Kobe has taken 11,912 shots in 9 1/2 seasons. Kobe would have to more then double the pace he is on now to catch Jordan in shot attempts in the next 5 years. Jordan averaged 22.88 shots a game in his career, Kobe is 5 a game behind at 17.88. But Kobe is the ball hog?

[See Red]

Two years ago when Kobe wasn't scoring as much but was dishing the ball off to his teammates people said he was being an ass because he was passing up open shots. If he shoots alot he is selfish.

 

If Michael Jordan had done something this amazing you guys would be going nuts, saying this was the greatest performance ever by the best player ever.

Big time double standard among basketball fans. Jordan was perceived as a media darling when in all reality he is a bigger egotistical ass then Kobe is. There are countless stories of Jordan shunning autographs for kids, not being charitable etc., while Kobe is a willing signer for kids and does all kinds of community oriented events, yet Jordan is a God and Kobe is selfish.

 

Proof of a double standard, Jordan took 24,537 shots in a 15 year NBA career, Kobe has taken 11,912 shots in 9 1/2 seasons. Kobe would have to more then double the pace he is on now to catch Jordan in shot attempts in the next 5 years. Jordan averaged 22.88 shots a game in his career, Kobe is 5 a game behind at 17.88. But Kobe is the ball hog?

 

Good stats, YS. Nice research!

[jimmycarter05]

Two years ago when Kobe wasn't scoring as much but was dishing the ball off to his teammates people said he was being an ass because he was passing up open shots. If he shoots alot he is selfish.

 

If Michael Jordan had done something this amazing you guys would be going nuts, saying this was the greatest performance ever by the best player ever.

Big time double standard among basketball fans. Jordan was perceived as a media darling when in all reality he is a bigger egotistical ass then Kobe is. There are countless stories of Jordan shunning autographs for kids, not being charitable etc., while Kobe is a willing signer for kids and does all kinds of community oriented events, yet Jordan is a God and Kobe is selfish.

 

Proof of a double standard, Jordan took 24,537 shots in a 15 year NBA career, Kobe has taken 11,912 shots in 9 1/2 seasons. Kobe would have to more then double the pace he is on now to catch Jordan in shot attempts in the next 5 years. Jordan averaged 22.88 shots a game in his career, Kobe is 5 a game behind at 17.88. But Kobe is the ball hog?

 

 

That was alright because MJ won championships, umm how many? 6! That's right 6 by himself, now lets see how many Kobe can win by himself, because the only reason he won the other 3 was because of Superman, you know who I'm talking about. He'll be lucky to make it as a top 5 seed in the playoffs this year.

[ARod2212]

Kobe is doing the best thing he can do for the team. If he's able to score 81 why not? The guys around him plain suck.

 

The idea is to win, and when Kobe shoots more often than not they have the best chance to win. So why not?

[Cityofchampions33]

Just an insane performance. Maybe against a team like the Suns he could make a real run at Wilt:dunno:

 

Ummm, last I checked, the Suns were better than the Toronto Raptors

[ARod2212]

Ummm, last I checked, the Suns were better than the Toronto Raptors

My point is they are a run and gun team that has lots of shots for both clubs (they just allowed 152 points to Seattle, granted there was OT). With that many opportunities, Kobe could have another big game.

[schillingouttheks]

Hahaha with today's games, Kobe coulda single handedly beaten:

 

Milwaukee Bucks

New Jersey Nets

New Orleans-Oklahoma Hornets

 

Hahah, wow.

[See Red]

That was alright because MJ won championships, umm how many? 6! That's right 6 by himself, now lets see how many Kobe can win by himself, because the only reason he won the other 3 was because of Superman, you know who I'm talking about. He'll be lucky to make it as a top 5 seed in the playoffs this year.

 

MJ won 6 by himself? You mean, Scottie Pippen, who was recognized as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, had nothing to do with them?

 

And if he only won 3 because of Shaq, why hasn't Shaq won any rings without the aid of Kobe?

[See Red]

'Melo was 13 for 16 against the same Raptors that Kobe torched. If he took as many shots as Kobe had taken, he'd have scored, like, 111 points. Just saying.

[Manny Goes Boom]

Just an insane performance. Maybe against a team like the Suns he could make a real run at Wilt:dunno:

 

The Suns already played the Lakers, beat them both times, and Kobe didn't score (off hand not positive) 81 in the two games. Sorry but we're better than that. And better than the Lakers.

 

To your point about the game last night against Seattle, the Sonics shot 54% percent from the field, have more than one guy whos capable of going off for 40 (Ray Allen did) at any given night, and have 3 guys who shoot over 90% from the foul line. That game was screaming a shootout.

[eZ_d0eS_iT]

MJ won 6 by himself? You mean, Scottie Pippen, who was recognized as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, had nothing to do with them?

 

And if he only won 3 because of Shaq, why hasn't Shaq won any rings without the aid of Kobe?

 

 

to that point, last i checked, MJ didn't start winning championships until management surrounded him with talent (all star-Pippen,dominant power forward- Ho. Grant, 3point specialists-Craig Hodges, Steve Kerr, etc.). might as well call lamar the invisible man because looking at the box score you couldn't tell if he bothered to show up. as great as this single-game performance was, it shows the glaring holes on LA's roster... that without kobe shooting out of his mind, this team loses by double digits to the lowly raptors.

 

why a move hasn't been made yet to bring in sprewell or artest is beyond me... especially when phil himself has been advocating bringing in the tru warrior to LA.

[redsoxrules]

MJ won 6 by himself? You mean, Scottie Pippen, who was recognized as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, had nothing to do with them?

 

And if he only won 3 because of Shaq, why hasn't Shaq won any rings without the aid of Kobe?

 

lets put it this way who was the MVP for the 3 years that the lakers won it all?? it was because of shaq that they won not kobe

[schillingouttheks]

His point is...

 

If it was because of Shaq, why didn't Miami win it all last year with Shaq? He even had Wade there (albeit, he was injured and out...). But if it was because of Shaq, they shoulda won it anyway.

 

Kobe had something to do with those championships. Don't kid yourself.

[jimmycarter05]

MJ won 6 by himself? You mean, Scottie Pippen, who was recognized as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, had nothing to do with them?

 

And if he only won 3 because of Shaq, why hasn't Shaq won any rings without the aid of Kobe?

 

 

Kobe helped, but without Shaq they wouldn't have won or been as high of seed as they were, if the Lakers do make the playoffs this year it will be as a 7th or 8th seed. 6th if they get Ron Artest, which may cause even more problems with Kobe.

[Beckett95]

vince carters dumb statement on Kobe--

 

In the aftermath of Kobe Bryant's 81-point explosion Sunday night, Carter told the Newark Star-Ledger that the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history might not set a good example for young players.

 

"The only bad thing about it is that younger kids, whose minds are easily warped, are going to think, 'Ohhh! I am going to go out there and do it instead of (honoring) the team concept first,'" the Nets' star told the newspaper. "That is what is missing in the game, guys understanding how to play as a team."

 

Carter went on to say, "I think it is great for (the NBA): They want scoring, they want ratings, and you are going to get that. You are definitely going to get them now with the amount of 50-point games, 60-plus games. I just hope that kids and young guys understand that (only) special guys can do that. Yeah, the (other Lakers) were trying to get Kobe the ball, they wanted to see a special night. But they all know their roles."

 

The criticism comes from an interesting source.

 

Last season, Carter ranked just behind Bryant in shots attempted per game (Bryant took 20.1 shots per game, while Carter took 20.0). And Carter is still among the league leaders in that category this year at 19.0 shots per game, although he's well behind Bryant, who leads the NBA at 27.7 shots per contest.

[ARod2212]

Kobe helped, but without Shaq they wouldn't have won or been as high of seed as they were, if the Lakers do make the playoffs this year it will be as a 7th or 8th seed. 6th if they get Ron Artest, which may cause even more problems with Kobe.

And they wouldn't have won without Rick Fox during that run either. What's your point?

[schillingouttheks]

Vince Carter is a f***ing idiot. Everything poisons the youths these days <_ src="//d1mqtyoopj0gsc.cloudfront.net/emoticons/default_rolleyes.gif" alt=":rolleyes:">

[eZ_d0eS_iT]

yeah, the same vince carter who was jaking an injury to force a trade and get out of toronto... stfu and play carter, you don't exactly have enough goodwill in the bank to start criticizing anyone in the NBA.

 

i hope kobe uses that idiotic statement to light his ass up when they play the nets.

[Ray10]

Wow that was the sickest thing I have ever seen in my life. He single handedly beat the Raptors like Sportsnet up here was saying it was Kobe Bryant versus the Raptors. 81 Points I didn't think anyone was ever going to come even close to being where Wilt is. I think had Kobe of been in overtime he would have beaten Wilt's mark of 100 points in a game.

[See Red]

yeah, the same vince carter who was jaking an injury to force a trade and get out of toronto... stfu and play carter, you don't exactly have enough goodwill in the bank to start criticizing anyone in the NBA.

 

i hope kobe uses that idiotic statement to light his ass up when they play the nets.

 

He's just jealous. Not just because he didn't do it, but because he's not even capable of doing it.

[Manny Goes Boom]

He's just jealous. Not just because he didn't do it, but because he's not even capable of doing it.

 

WHOAH there nelly...back the haterade truck up. Vince is indeed capable of dropping 81 points, alot of players in this league are, it just depends on what team you place them on.

 

For instance lets swap Vince and Kobe, put Kobe in New Jersey and Vince in LA.

 

Vince, in the Raptors game as the Lakers starting shooting guard could easily drop 81. So could guys like T-Mac, Stoudemire, Ray Allen, etc.

 

Kobe, on a Nets team would indeed still be putting up phenominal numbers but not quite as astronomical. Because of the system the Nets have. The Nets have an all-star point guard in Jason Kidd (who was and some would debate still is the best point guard in the NBA), an up and coming star in Richard Jefferson, and Kobe (remember we traded Kobe for Vince straight up). Those are thre viable scoring options compared to (we, for the sake of this argument and using majority opinion will say..) 1 option for the Lakers, which is Vince (really Kobe but you get it...). And to say that he wouldn't get double covered in NJ is true because RJ will burn you, but if Kobe was ACTUALLY in NJ and took that many shots with the other two guys he's playing with, he would look like an idiot, and a selfish player who has no concept of team ball. Which is his perception by many people who watch or know basketball to any degree at all.

 

Anyway, if Vince was a Laker, he would get 41 shots a game and be able to take 20 free throws (Kobe's shot attempts off-hand, I only looked at the box-score once due to my hatred for Kobe) a game. Kobe also lofted up some threes. I THINK it was like 7. OK so that adds up to:

 

41 attempts from the field (82 possible Points)

7 attempts from the land of milk and honey (21 possible Points)

20 Free-Throw attempts (20 possible Points)

 

Now no perosn will shoot 100% from the field but thats a possible 123 points. Kobe had a hot night and I wouldn't call him the sharpest shooter in the NBA. Other guys could do it. Before you say they couldn't put them on the Lakers.

[MC Hammer]

yeah, the same vince carter who was jaking an injury to force a trade and get out of toronto... stfu and play carter, you don't exactly have enough goodwill in the bank to start criticizing anyone in the NBA.

 

i hope kobe uses that idiotic statement to light his ass up when they play the nets.

Light his ass up with a punch in the throat? Ya know since Vince does all that "cute s***" in the lane. Oh no thats right Kobe wouldn't touch Vince, because he'd get his face beat in. Kobe isn't an equal oppertunity throat puncher.

 

Whoever is defending Kobe, go right ahead, but he's going to be remember for being a selfish moron who ruined what could have been one of the best dynastys ever. He'll be the guy remember for giving up championships so he could score more points, and make a bigger name for himself.

 

I can't believe this douche bag was going to go to Duke.