Kobe Bryant felt a different vibe than usual while lifting weights in the fitness room at the Lakers’ hotel yesterday morning before his team’s Garden showdown last night against the Knicks.
“This morning in the workout room, people aren’t talking about how many points I’m going to score,” Bryant said before his lone Garden appearance of the season. “Today, a lot of people are talking as if the Knicks will win.”
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Well, they should have been talking about how many points Bryant was going to score because he was hours from smashing the Garden scoring records of Bernard King and his idol, Michael Jordan.
In a landmark, transcendent performance, Bryant lit up Broadway with the most prolific outing in the current Garden’s history, rampaging for 61 points in 36:48 before an adoring, MVP-chanting crowd in the Lakers’ 126-117 victory.
Bryant, who piled up 34 points in the first half, broke King’s record of 60 points, set on Dec. 25, 1984, minutes after smashing Jordan’s mark for points by an opponent – 55 – set on March 28, 1995.
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“It’s a blessing to do what you love and have moments like this,” said Bryant, who was 20 of 20 from the free-throw line and 19 of 31 from the field.
Bryant came out of the game with 1:48 left to a standing ovation and more “MVP” chants with the Lakers leading 126-108. The chants started early in the first quarter, the first time Bryant went to the line, and were heard periodically across the night. The noise was louder after his buckets than Knicks’ scores.
“It was like a road game for us,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Bryant set both Garden records while at the foul line. He passed Jordan by making three straight free throws with 3:56 left after drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt during garbage time. He got to 61 points with 2:33 left on free throws.
“This place is special,” Bryant said of the Garden. “Fans will boo you before the game. But they appreciate the game. Tonight, it felt great to get the reaction from the fans. It’s saying we love what you do.”
“[The Garden’s] the last one left. I never played Boston Garden. There’s the Forum, then there’s this building. This is the last one that holds all the memories.”
Bryant said he was fueled by the notion of meeting Knicks superfan Spike Lee after the game to discuss a documentary on which they plan to work. “That was added incentive, seriously,” Bryant said. “I didn’t want to get an earful from him.”
Bryant also was spurred by memories of conversations during the Olympics with D’Antoni, an assistant coach on he U.S. team. “Don’t underestimate the trash-talking going on between us [in Beijing],” Bryant said.
Bryant recalled his Garden debut in the 1996-97 season. “I [stunk],” Bryant said. “I remember coming in being nervous as heck, guarding John Wallace. My career has progressed since then.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson coached Jordan in his 55-point game while with the Bulls. Unknowingly, Jackson looked to take Bryant out of the game when he had 54 points, but Bryant motioned to stay in.
Garden promoters billed this as “Dream Week,” with LeBron James and the Cavaliers (tomorrow) and the defending champion Celtics (Friday) following the Lakers. But last night, Bryant was the home team’s worst nightmare as the purple and gold ran over D’Antoni’s streaking club for the most points the Knicks (21-26) have given up this season.
Bryant got to 40 points with 5:04 left in the third on a twisting runner in the lane. Bryant carried 46 points into the fourth , tying his best-ever game at the Garden, set in 2003.
After Bryant toasted defenders Quentin Richardson, Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler and David Lee in the first half, D’Antoni turned to Jared Jeffries to shadow him.
“It’s not like guys were playing soft,” Lee said.
Kobe scored 18 points in the first quarter, hitting three long-range jumpers in the opening 2:05 and racking up 13 of the Lakers’ first 16 points. At one point, he was outscoring the Knicks 13-11.
On the last play of the quarter, Bryant dribbled down the clock and drove left on Chandler, who blocked his shot emphatically. That only seemed to rev up Bryant’s motor.
Lakers 126 Knicks 117