If you mention the name Michael Jordan to many sports followers, you will surely get a nod from the vast majority, including those who do not follow basketball. Most will tell you he was the very best ever, even if die-hard basketball experts might not totally agree with this.
Yet if I just say that what I am about to describe was never accomplished by Michael Jordan himself, then many may start understanding that I am mentioning something massive and historical in today’s article.
Unfortunately this big basketball news was not given much importance in the local media but I am sure that this article will make sport lovers much more aware of this great feat carried out some days ago in the world’s top basketball league, the NBA.
I ma sure many have heard of Kobe Bryant, even though some may only recall his name in a bad light after his court turmoil some months ago. Yet Kobe, the son of Joe Bryant who many maybe remember playing in neighbouring Italy for quite a number of years, was a teenage basketball sensation when he joined the NBA ten years ago and has had his magical moments ever since, including three NBA titles.
Kobe Bryant carved out a piece of NBA history by scoring an amazing 81 personal points against the Toronto Raptors. This was the second-highest total ever (only Wilt Chamberlain went any better with a 100 points in March 1962) and more than enough to lead the Lakers past the Raptors, 122-104, in front of an energized, if not disbelieving, crowd of 18,997 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Bryant made 28 of 46 shots (60.9 per cent) and potted 18 out of 20 free throws. He made seven of 13 three-point attempts and also had six rebounds and two assists in the game.
Bryant was taken out of the game with slightly over 4 seconds to go and proceeded to the bench and hugged the Lakers coach Phil Jackson. In the meantime, the public-address announcer in the gym pleaded to the fans to save their ticket stubs from the “historic night at Staples Center.”
Phil Jackson, who has won nine NBA titles in the last years and who coached successfully Michael Jordan (who had a career high of 69 points), had some praise and some appropriate mild criticism: In fact, Jackson, after the game, said, “to be honest with you, that is not exactly the way you want to have a team win a game, but when you have to win a game, it’s great to be able to have that weapon to do it with.”
Bryant’s accomplishment increases in stature when one notices that the Lakers were losing by 18 points early in the second half (the half time score was in fact 63-49 for the visiting team the Toronto Raptors) and Bryant’s points paved the way for the comeback.
Statistics-wise Bryant’s 81 points accounted for 66 per cent of the team’s total as compared to Chamberlian’s 59 per cent when he scored 100 points for Philadelphia in their 169-147 win over the New York Knicks in 1962.
Up till a few days ago, Chamberlain held also the second best record with 78 points scored in a triple-overtime game against the Lakers in 1961.
The Lakers’ best ever record was held by Elgin Baylor, a player who had managed to score 71 points against New York in 1960.
On a negative note on a bright day for Kobe, he had to end a wonderful consecutive made free throw streak in the game against the Raptors. In fact he missed a free-shot in the game after scoring the previous 62 in the previous games. A very nice record indeed!
Initially some critics (who also tried to create controversy by reminding fans that this was 666th career regular season game) blamed the Raptors for allowing Kobe to score such a high number of points but their coach Sam Mitchell quickly stated that they did everything they could to stop Kobe, like after all they had done in the first round game when Bryant was held to a seasonal low of 11 points. Mitchell said , “the thing about Btryant that is most amazing is that he is relentless. We played man-to-man, box-in-one and zone. We tried to put smaller guys on him to deny him the ball.”
In the same week of Bryant’s feat, there was another scoring record set in the US, even though at much a more lowly and different level, the girls’ high school basketball game.
Ephipanny Prince, a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan (who is bound to register with Rutgers University next season) accomplished her record feat of 113 personal points in a 137-32 victory by Bergtraum against overmatched Manhattan rival Louis Brandeis High School.
Prince, a player that one expects to hear a lot about her in the future, broke the 24-year-old record of Cheryl Miller, one of the all-time world greatest women’s basketball players and who is the older sister of former NBA star Reggie Miller.
Cheryl Miller had scored 105 points in a 1982 game for Riverside (California) Polytechnic in a 179-15 victory over Riverside Norte Vista.
Obviously Kobe Bryant’s record stands much higher in status yet the women’s game has developed at great speed in the last years and the top level has become very competitive and technical in nature.
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