Kobe scores a staggering 81 in win.
Kobe lights it up
Kobe Bryant now stands second in the NBA's history books after scoring 81 points against the Raptors.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kobe Bryant kept shooting, from all over the court and from every angle.
By halftime, he had 26 points -- not a bad tally for most players. By the end of the game, he put up the second-highest total in NBA history.
The Los Angeles Lakers star scored a staggering 81 points Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors in a 122-104 win. Only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game stands ahead of him.
"It just happened," Bryant said. "It's tough to explain. It's just one of those things.
"It really hasn't set in. To sit here and say I grasp what happened tonight, I'd be lying."
The NBA's leading scorer left to a standing ovation with 4.2 seconds remaining, having shot 28-of-46 from the floor and 18-of-20 from the foul line. He was 7-of-13 from three-point range.
With the fans at Staples Center chanting "MVP! MVP!" Bryant made two free throws with 43.4 seconds remaining for his final points. He scored 28 in the fourth quarter, 27 in the third.
"It feels great to put on a great show here," he said.
Chamberlain scored 100 points for Philadelphia against the New York Knicks at Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. His second-highest total was 78 against the Lakers in three overtimes on Dec. 8, 1961.
Elgin Baylor held the previous franchise record of 71 points at New York on Nov. 15, 1960. Lakers assistant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, saw that game, too.
"Elgin's game was an incredible performance, also. I don't think there's any comparison. Elgin did it without three-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," Abdul-Jabbar said.
"It was a real treat. His ability to shoot from long range and also attack the hoop, split the defence and get in close for opportunities near the basket is unique. He's made a niche for himself and he deserves it."
Michael Jordan's career high was 69 points, and only four players had ever scored more than 70 -- Chamberlain, Baylor, David Thompson and David Robinson.
The 27-year-old 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.
Bryant is averaging 35.9 points per game this season.
"We definitely wanted to get it to him tonight," teammate Smush Parker said. "He had the hot hand."
"We knew he had it in him," he said.
So did Raptors coach Sam Mitchell.
"I saw that game he had against Dallas where he scored 62, what more can you say," he said.
"The thing about him 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."
Bryant played nearly 42 minutes, going the entire second half until being lifted by coach Phil Jackson.
"You're sitting and watching, and it's like a miracle unfolding in front of your eyes and you can't accept it," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said. "Somehow, the brain won't work. The easiest way to look at it is everybody remembers every 50-point game they ever saw. He had 55 in the second half."
Bryant's performance came on the same night the NBA had its highest-scoring game in 11 years when Seattle beat Phoenix 152-149 in two overtimes. The last 300-point game in the league came when Dallas beat Houston 156-147 in two overtimes on April 11, 1995, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Lamar Odom's three-pointer with 7:04 remaining gave the Lakers a 100-93 lead, and Bryant scored 30 seconds later to give him 61 points and his team a nine-point advantage.
Bryant scored all but 15 of the Lakers' 42 points in the third quarter, shooting 11-of-15 including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Six of his points came during a 12-0 run to finish the period, giving Los Angeles a 91-85 lead.
Parker was second on the Lakers with 13 points and Chris Mihm added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Mike James had 26 points and 10 assists for Toronto. Chris Bosh added 18 points and eight rebounds and Jalen Rose scored 17 points.
The Lakers outscored the Raptors 38-14 to finish the third period to go ahead for good.
With Bryant on the bench, the Lakers were outscored 10-3 in the first six minutes of the second quarter. Sasha Vujacic's three-pointer was their only field goal in 11 tries during that time.
The Raptors led by as many as 16 points in the period before settling for a 63-49 halftime lead. Bryant had 26 points and James had 19 points and nine assists in the first half.
Toronto shot 15-of-22 including 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first quarter for a 36-29 lead.
Notes: Bryant scored a season-low 11 points in the Lakers' 102-91 victory over the Raptors in Toronto last month. He had 14 in the first quarter of this game. ... Bryant has led the Lakers in scoring in the last 21 games in which he's played. He entered with an NBA-leading 34.8-point average, and is averaging 45.5 points in 10 games since sitting out a two-game suspension. ... Toronto C Rafael Araujo, who has made 30 starts this season, missed his second straight game and third of the season because of a sore right shoulder. ... Bryant made his first five foul shots before missing late in the second quarter, snapping his streak of consecutive made free throws at 62. Michael Williams made an NBA-record 93 straight for Minnesota in 1993. ... Bryant received a technical foul with 10:44 left -- shortly after being accidentally struck above the right eye.
