Kobe Bryant, often unstoppable, played at a
higher level than even he imagined possible.
The Los Angeles Lakers' star scored a phenomenal 81 points
Sunday night -- the second-highest total in NBA history -- in a
122-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Only Wilt Chamberlain's storied 100-point game nearly 44 years
ago ranks higher.
"Not even in my dreams," Bryant said. "That was something
that just happened. It's tough to explain. It's just one of those
things.
"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."
The Lakers trailed by as many as 18 points early in the third
quarter, angering Bryant.
"He was ticked off," teammate Lamar 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 extended a 63-49
halftime lead to 71-53. The Lakers outscored the Raptors 38-14 to
finish the third quarter to go ahead for good.
"That was incredible, remarkable," Odom said.
Bryant, 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 18,997 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.
"We are on a journey, and to put on a show like this for the
fans here in L.A. is truly something special," Bryant said. "I
grew up in front of these people, and now they are seeing me as an
older, young man."
The 27-year-old Bryant joined the Lakers out of high school, and
is in his 10th NBA season.
Chamberlain scored 100 points for Philadelphia against the New York Knicks at Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962, shooting 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.
Michael Jordan's career high was 69 points, and only four
players had ever scored more than 70 -- Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor,
David Thompson and David Robinson.
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 6½ 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."
Baylor held the Lakers' previous franchise record of 71 points
at New York on Nov. 15, 1960. Lakers special assistant Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, saw that game,
too.
"Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also,"
Abdul-Jabbar said. "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.
"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."
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Allen Iverson and the 76ers' reunion tour kicked off with a fantastic opening act.
A full house, video tribute and enough No. 3 jerseys in the crowd to fill two or three merchandise stands. Iverson kissed the 76ers logo, danced with his teammates and bowed to his adoring fans.
All they need to do now is work on the finish. Fans came for No. 3 and stayed for No. 10 -- Philadelphia's 10th straight loss.
Chauncey Billups scored 31 points and Carmelo Anthony had 14 to help the Denver Nuggets spoil Iverson's return to Philadelphia with a 93-83 win over the 76ers on Monday night.
"I just felt like I was back home," Iverson said. "It was deja vu. Just a real good feeling. The fans made it hard on me because they made me more nervous than I already was."
The Nuggets did their share to ruin Iverson's homecoming. Denver scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to rally for its fourth straight win.
Iverson's old team improved to 16-5; his new-again team fell to 5-16.
"It was a positive experience to be part of A.I. returning," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I thought he fatigued as the game went on and we got the benefit of it. He's not in the best of shape yet."
Iverson received a standing ovation when he left in the fourth quarter. He scored 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting and had six assists in 37 minutes.
Iverson's rousing return did little to mask the fact that the Sixers are a lousy team. Only one-win New Jersey has a worse record in the Eastern Conference.
"I haven't been here long enough to put a finger on one or two things [wrong]," Iverson said. "Tonight, with the way the guys competed, I don't know how they lost nine games in a row. I couldn't see it, not from the team I was playing with tonight. We'll get it together, believe me."
Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 31 points, Thaddeus Young had 21 and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 15 rebounds.
But this night for the Sixers was all about Iverson in his first game with the team since he was traded in 2006. A sellout crowd of 20,664 stood and roared in approval when Iverson was introduced and planted the kiss on the centercourt logo.
Iverson missed his first shot, a makable layup early in the first quarter. His first points came off a 4-footer he tossed up off a Dalembert miss.
Energized by the emotional pregame show, the 76ers played one of their strongest quarters of the season. Iguodala, who bristled at the end of Iverson's first tenure at being labeled "AI2," scored 14 points to show this was still his team.
It's still Iverson's crowd.
The building hummed every time he touched the ball, and each basket was cheered as if it were a playoff winner.
Iverson played sparingly in his three-game stint with Memphis and feared he'd be out of game shape for his debut. He played all but 1 second of the first quarter and sat out in the second half mostly because of three fouls by the middle of the third quarter.
Backed by 18 points from Iguodala and 10 from Thaddeus Young, the Sixers led 44-41 at the break.
They stretched that lead to nine when Iverson tossed a floater toward the basket that Dalembert slammed in for the alley-oop and had the Sixers feeling like their losing streak would be history.
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Allen Iverson fought through jet lag, car sickness and pregame butterflies that felt more like birds before he finally got to play his first game for the Denver Nuggets.
When his debut with the depleted Nuggets was over Friday night, the feeling was familiar for the former 76er. Another crowd-pleasing performance, 22 points and 10 assists over 39 minutes, wasn't enough to prevent a loss -- 101-96 to the Sacramento Kings.
"I'm glad it's over," Iverson said. "That's the only thing I thought about, just getting the first one by me. I wish it could've ended with a win. I felt it could've ended with a win."
As it turned out, it was another former Philadelphia player, fifth-year guard John Salmons, who was the game's most valuable player. He finished with his first career triple-double -- 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists -- to lift the Kings to a satisfying win.
Rough weather in Denver put them in a travel bind, and they arrived at the Pepsi Center only 90 minutes before tipoff, or about the same time Iverson finally made it.
"We will never have a worse travel day than today," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "Our energy and effort was phenomenal."
The Kings might go down as a trivia answer if Iverson's arrival in the blockbuster trade that sent Andre Miller and Joe Smith to Philadelphia takes the Nuggets where they hope it will.
In his debut, playing on a team with only eight healthy players, the newest Nugget gave the kind of gritty, gutty performance that has become his trademark.
He played 39 minutes after a whirlwind of a day in which he arrived in Denver in the late afternoon, was whisked to the Pepsi Center, passed his physical, took a few jumpers on the practice court then suited up to be on the floor for tipoff.
He spent the first 8:35 on the bench. When he finally came in, he received a standing ovation, and never left the floor.
This was widely considered the biggest trade in Denver sports history since the Broncos brought John Elway to town nearly 25 years ago. It's a trade many think could put the Nuggets -- who have long played second fiddle in this city -- into championship mode.
"They embraced me here," Iverson said of the welcome he received. "It was just a great feeling and it was a feeling I wanted to get. A feeling I hoped to get. It was special to me, something I'll remember and cherish the rest of my life."
During a stretch late in the third quarter, Iverson was at his tiptoeing, no-look-passing best, giving a preview of the difference he can make to this team.
He made a pair of 3-pointers, created an open 15-footer for himself and also had a sweet pass to Linas Kleiza as part of a big run that gave the Nuggets their first lead since early in the first quarter.
The highlight was a tiptoe down the baseline, followed by a no-look pass to Reggie Evans through traffic in the key for an easy bucket.
The game was tied at 87 with 3½ minutes left when the Kings started pulling away with six straight points on a pair of baskets by Salmons and a layup by Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Iverson would have had 20 assists were it not for the struggles of his new teammates, many of them unused to the minutes they played and none of them accustomed to receiving the kind of passes Iverson throws.
"I was just playing basketball, taking what the defense gave me," Iverson said of the Kings, who played a lot of zone trying to stop Iverson. "When they crowded me, and I saw guys open, I made the right plays."
Iverson finished 9-for-15 and this was one of those rare games in which he may not have shot the ball enough.
Earl Boykins scored 25 points on an 8-for-23 night in which the Nuggets shot 37 percent as a team.
"It was a tough game," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We really wanted to win it for AI and the team. The courage was good, the commitment was good. It was the little basketball frustrations that slowly built to a level that was difficult to overcome."
Certainly, things will change when Carmelo Anthony returns 13 games from now after serving out his suspension for his fight with the Knicks.
But as it currently stands, the Nuggets need everything from Iverson. They are also missing J.R. Smith -- also on suspension -- and learned that center Marcus Camby could be out a while because of a finger injury he suffered earlier this week.