Bryant Becomes Part Of NBA History Scoring 81 Points

valakefan wrote:Meanwhile the other Lakers were wondering why the even bothered suiting up because Kobe was in full ballhog mode tonight.There's no "I" in TEAM but there is a "me."Should be his motto.I love The Lakers but I'm just sick of his ego and ballhogging.

GuRu wrote:You set 'em straight Realm

This must be painful for you.

GuRu wrote:

borri wrote:

GuRu wrote:You set 'em straight Realm

This must be painful for you.

Not naming names....but I've noticed alot of our resident closet anti-snitch-devilers are awfully quiet tonight....

theyve been quiet for weeks. Kobe is averaging 50 for the month and were winning. Its not much fun to eb on this forum when their number 1 priority is to hate on a player, not be a fan of this team.

Here is to hoping they stay away for a long time.

You guys know who you are.

Bravo, Kobe, Bravo!

We love high-scoring, high-performance hoops
TOTAL RESPECT!

I just finished watching Kobe's colossal 81-point performance: Wow! It was the "perfect storm," in a game where L.A. trailed by 18 in the first quarter and 14 at the half, so Kobe's points were meaningful and the situation perfect for a Sunday night, Jan. 22 that will live in history!

Kobe was a "rubber band man," an aerial and un-real contortionist! As someone who has often criticized Kobe's poor shot selection in the past, I feel very at ease in saying that this time it's impossible to nit-pick! That's 81p oints on 46 shots in 42 minutes shooting 61 percent (52 percent on threes!) and 90 percent from the free throw line for the most intense competitor since Michael?

This was beyond "Jordanesque!"

Since his suspension, Bryant has been "Chamberlainesque," averaging 45.5 in his last 10 games with a better than Wilt -- like 62 free throws in a row!

Remember it took Wilt three overtimes vs. the Lakers in '61 to score 78! Thank goodness Phil didn't take him out when he had 77!

Behold once again the power of the Blog Squad!

(OK maybe Bill Russell did have more to do with Shaq and Kobe patching things up than us...)

This time, as we suggested, Kobe stayed in the game to the end, even after the victory was assured and his teammates rightfully fed him the ball so he could make history! All those who saw the game live feel like they've witnessed something unique. And it was definitely not a case of disrespecting the opponent!

Toronto was in the game four-fifths of the way and tried multiple defences and defenders on the "uncatchable one!"

What a night for the NBA where two run-first defensive teams qualify for the Super Bowl and have to take a back seat to Kobe! And Seattle and Phoenix combined for the first 300 point game since 1995 while breaking the record for combined threes with 32!

Nothing but fireworks and it's three weeks after New Years Day! The new "hands-off rules" on defence are proving their value, (sorry to repeat myself but that was another thing on the Blog Squad lobbying list!), even if Larry Brown and Pat Riley disagree.

Long live high-scoring, high-percentage, spectacular basketball games like Kobe's "perfect storm!"

If I Could Be Like Wilt

Sunday January 22nd, was such a great day of basketball. Ray Allen had 42 points and a buzzer beatin', game winnin' shot in Seattle's 152-149 (you heard me!) double overtime win against Phoenix. Allen Iverson had 39 and 9(assists) as Philly topped the Minnesota Timberwolves in yet another buzzer-beater game, courtesy of Andre Iguodala. What else? Mike Miller went for 30 as the Grizzlies beat the Wizards. Tracy McGrady's 43 points wasn't nearly enough to upset Detroit as the Houston Rockets lost 99 to 97. Dallas narrowly escaped Portland in overtime and older Shaq looked a lot like "Throwback Shaq" with 27 points and 6 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings. Oh, and Kobe scored 81 points today. What!!!!!!??????

Kobe Bryant has been compared to Michael Jordan ever since he took Brandy to his high school prom. But perhaps we've been making the wrong comparisons all along. This season, some of Kobe's point totals have been more reminiscent of Wilt Chamberlain. The "wow" factor surrounding Kobe, harks back to Pistol Pete Maravich. And now, the big question surrounding Laker nation is whether or not Kobe Bryant can catch Elgin Baylor's club record 19 games of scoring 50 points or more. He's almost halfway there. All of a sudden, the legend of Kobe has expanded beyond Michael. Kobe just scored the second most points in a game, in NBA history. Folks, Kobe just scored the most points in forty-four years!

Without question, every basketball fan will be keeping an eye on the Laker box scores for the rest of the season to see how many points Kobe drops on any given night. Heaven forbid he score a paltry 31 points against the Golden State Warriors this week! All of a sudden, it doesn't matter if the Lakers are going up against the Hawks or the Pistons. With all due respect to Phoenix, Detroit and San Antonio, the greatest basketball show on earth is once again in Los Angeles.

What I find most intriguing is how instantaneously Kobe raised the stakes for the rest of his career. The question of whether or not Kobe could win an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal had already been posed. The question is now even greater than that. It is clear that Kobe believes he can shoot his way to another championship. Basketball gospel says that is not likely. We'll see which philosophy wins out in the end. Let another act in this Kobe drama begin!

Kobe has also committed to playing for USA Basketball in the 2008 Olympics. If he'd just stuck to being in the same stratosphere as Tracy McGrady, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, then the burden to succeed in Beijing wouldn't necessarily fall entirely on Mister Bryant. But when when you decide to go out and score 81 of your team's 122 points in a game, less than a week after your announcement to play in the Olympics and a month after scoring 62 points in three quarters of a game, then the message is clear: KOBE MUST WIN GOLD!

Kobe Bryant's "to do" list just got bigger:

2006 Scoring Title.
Another NBA championship.
At least one MVP award.
Olympic Gold in 2008.
One of the greatest players ever.

No pressure Kobe. No pressure.

Chat Transcript

Chuckster: Given that in your debut against the Raptors you scored two points in just a single minute of playing time, setting a Chamberlainesque 96 point per 48 minute pace, do you think you can challenge Kobe for the NBA's game high this season?

Shavlik Randolph: Ha-ha (Laughing) Not right now. I just need to get on the court and stay on the court. I never thought anyone could get 81 points in the modern era. But, hey, you never know, all things are possible with God (Laughing).

Yahoo: Toronto faded midway in the fourth quarter even though Anthony was on the bench for much of it -- the kind of break some of the Raptors wished Bryant had taken the night before -- before trimming the lead in the final minutes.

Before tip-off, Rose said he hoped people will eventually forget it was the Raptors who were on the wrong side of history the night before.

"Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to celebrate, it's nothing you want to be on the butt end of the jokes about," Rose said. "But it's kind of like losing the Super Bowl or the championship. In 30, 40 years, when somebody breaks his record, you know, nobody's going to remember who it was against."

Toronto coach Sam Mitchell was in no mood to talk about Kobe.

"Are you asking me about tonight's game or yesterday's game?" he snapped.

About Kobe's 81, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point feat nearly 44 years ago.

"Talked about it early in the day and put it behind us," Mitchell said. "We talked about it. Some of the guys wanted to see it, so we watched it and put it behind us."

Realm of Shadows wrote:

LO7 wrote:

Someone asked Dirk Nowitzki if he could top 82. "I don't think that would be good from a team standpoint," Nowitzki said.

Why does Dirk need to be such a hater? Scoring 81 on 61 percent shooting is bad from a team standpoint?

You know what I think is bad from a team standpoint, Dirk? Choking in the playoffs every year.

You're attacking like he said Kobe is too selfish and should have never shot that much. He said from a team (everyone contributes) standpoint its not good. He didn't say Kobe isn't a team player, they asked him about Kobes history DAY. Sheesh, cut the crap with the Dirk hate already.

Vasashi17 wrote:Kobe's a bum!

He had to miss his free throws....didn't he!

So he decides to try and break another NBA record that wouldn't take as much time as the FT record....

And the bum falls short by 20 points! He ONLY scores 81. I'm disappointed in Kobe.

BTW, nice avy Chief and even if I think Kobe's a bum, I still think that on his "good nights" he is a basketball god!