Bryant Explodes With 81-point Game
Basketball: LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant recorded the second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history against Toronto.
Kobe Bryant scored a staggering 81 points - the second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history - as Los Angeles Lakers beat Toronto Raptors 122-104.
Bryant, who amassed 55 points in the second half alone, now stands second on the all-time scoring list behind Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points for Philadelphia 76ers against New York Knicks in 1962.
"I couldn’t even dream of this when I was a kid," said Bryant, who shot 28-of-46 from the floor and 18-of-20 from the foul line. "It just happened, man. I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned into what was going on out there. These points tonight mattered. The points I put in the basket were instrumental. It means a lot more."
Elgin Baylor held the previous franchise record of 71 points at New York in 1960, and Bryant topped his own high-scoring mark by 19 points. Michael Jordan’s career high was 69 points, and only four players had ever scored more than 70 - Chamberlain twice, David Thompson, Baylor and David Robinson.
Bryant, who amassed 55 points in the second half alone, now stands second on the all-time scoring list behind Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points for Philadelphia 76ers against New York Knicks in 1962.
"I couldn’t even dream of this when I was a kid," said Bryant, who shot 28-of-46 from the floor and 18-of-20 from the foul line. "It just happened, man. I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned into what was going on out there. These points tonight mattered. The points I put in the basket were instrumental. It means a lot more."
Elgin Baylor held the previous franchise record of 71 points at New York in 1960, and Bryant topped his own high-scoring mark by 19 points. Michael Jordan’s career high was 69 points, and only four players had ever scored more than 70 - Chamberlain twice, David Thompson, Baylor and David Robinson.
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