Classic Kobe- 81 Point Game [LD2K9]

Only Kobe Bryant would try to single-handedly upstage the NFL on Championship Sunday.


And get it done.

It's the greatest scoring night any of us have ever seen, except for the few among us who were in the arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on March 2, 1962. In other words, it's the best performance in NBA history, except for Wilt's 100.

It was 1.7 points per minute, or, in this case, 1.9 points per minute, since Kobe actually sat six minutes against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in the Lakers' 122-104 come-from-behind win in L.A.

It was 66 shots -- 46 field goal attempts and 20 free throw attempts. Of those FGAs, 28 found the net (60.9 percent), including seven of his 13 3-pointers. Eighteen of 20 free throws followed suit. (Yes, Kobe's free throw streak ended -- at 62.)

It's this -- 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 3 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.

It's enough to make you wish he'd have had a faster start, instead of "only" 26 in the first half ... to be followed by 27 in the third quarter ... and 28 in the fourth ... picking up speed with all the inevitability of gravity itself, a runaway train, a basketball bouncing down a steep driveway.

After the game, Kobe insisted it was "a big win" and said getting the W was the most important thing. Not sure anyone believes that, but it was remarkable how Bryant's scoring affected the game, far more than his usual onslaught.

Three minutes into the second half, the Raptors led 71-53. Bryant already had all four of the Lakers' second half points, giving him 30 for the game, but then he cranked it up -- later he would say that he had gone into overdrive because the Lakers were "lethargic," as if he needs a reason.

Over the next 80 seconds, he made a basket and two 3s, cutting the 18-point lead to 12. The Lakers and Kobe kept coming and, late in the third quarter, when he stole a pass and tiptoed down the sidelines to get loose for a dunk and make it 87-85, he put Los Angeles up for good.

Speaking of getting Los Angeles up, Kobe turned on the Showtime crowd for one of the greatest spontaneous celebrations ever for a single player.

For his audience, this was not about beating the Raptors but rather the pinch-me thrill of being in the arena during the greatest individual performance of the past four decades.

It was M-V-P! M-V-P!

But it was more than that -- it was the growing sound of 18,997 paying customers every time Kobe got the ball, and an expectant whoosh every time he went up to shoot, and a noisy, giddy sigh every time he missed, and a roar every time he made the basket or was fouled. It was the sound of a crowd at the circus, watching the trapeze artists at work, watching the greatest show on earth.

And while it's easy to forget when Kobe goes off, especially when the opposing team wears RAPTORS on its chest, this was an NBA team he was doing this to -- a team that was leading the game handily before he really got going.

That team, with talented players like Chris Bosh, Jalen Rose and Mike James on the floor, was clearly rattled, or worse. When everyone realized what Kobe was up to, both teams responded emotionally. The Lakers got a charge from Kobe's energy, while the Raptors were both distracted and overwhelmed. After a 63-point first half, they managed only 41 points in the second half, including only three baskets during a decisive nine-minute stretch.

A month ago, Lakers coach Phil Jackson (along with Kobe himself) held Bryant out of the fourth quarter, when Kobe had 62 and the Lakers had the game vs. the Mavericks locked up. Jackson was criticized, in the Daily Dime and elsewhere, for his decision.

This time, he might have had the same impulse, but he thought better of it. Late in the game, he said later, he told assistant coach Frank Hamblen he would take Kobe out. "I don't think you can," Hamblen replied, according to Jackson. "He has 77 points." And Jackson left Kobe in, until a Toronto turnover with four seconds to play allowed him to remove Kobe for the ovation he deserved and, indeed, even a half-hug from the Zen Master.

Jackson did the right thing this time, because Kobe ultimately wasn't playing against the Raptors. He was playing against all the guys who never scored 80, or even 70 -- Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Karl Malone, Bob McAdoo, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, Bernard King and on and on.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Classic
• Kobe-
• 81
• Point
• Game
• [LD2K9]
• thechristianmitchell

[mike247lakers]

and im a big laker fan and kobe fan but this game was planned and it was bs/fake

[LakerDynasty2k9]

@mike247lakers sure. i i have just planned to become president in 2012, therefore it will happen?

[mike247lakers]

Illuminati.this was kobes 666th NBA game kobe shot 66 times with 46 shots and 20 free throws which = 66 shots and kobe scored 66% of the lakers points. i know its sad and i know it sucks.killuminati

[LakerDynasty2k9]

@mike247lakers lol. you cant be serious.

[nunezhit]

that is fucking sick.... with that song it seems like hes all pissed off and gots something to prove lol

[LakerDynasty2k9]

thats what i do.

[TheGutierrez001]

KOBE is Fuckin Sick!!!

[djblunt0125]

This proves that he does not pass the ball

[usnate1]

@mike247lakers You're right man...no guard shoots that many free throws in a game...ever.

[TheChicagofan123]

why does the clock keep changing?!?!?!?!

[KobeGotOwned]

This was totally silly. Toronto was one of the worst teams in the NBA at that time and was without some of their star players. Combine that with Kobe's purposeful lack of defense "so he had a reason to stay in the game", and this is more of an embarrassment for the Lakers than anything.

There is no reason that Bryant should have still been in the game, and no reason why any logical coach would not have doubled him everytime he got the ball. Totally setup by bryant not playing defense.

[Kingofkings920]

@citi24 No I appologize.....Micheal Jordan is the greatest living Player on earth