Lakers: 20 Greatest Individual Performances in Franchise History
By Eric Yee
12. Kobe Bryant Puts Up 61 at Madison Square Garden
This was truly a magical Mamba moment.
Sixty-one points in the Mecca of Basketball, New York, the place where the lights are the brightest, is unreal.
Stories from this cold February night are well documented but none more hilarious than reports of Kobe draining shots in defenders faces then proceeding to talk trash to them in Italian.
When recalling his night, Kobe humbly said, “It’s a blessing to do what you love and to have moments like this.”
Former Knick David Lee recounted the performance saying, “He wouldn’t speak to anyone on the court. He was very quiet tonight. By the time he hit his first two 3s, you could see what he was attempting to do in the game.”
Kobe also revealed where his added incentive came from:
"On a lighter note, I’m going to review this documentary I’m doing with Spike Lee tonight after the game and I didn’t feel like sitting next to him and hearing him talking trash about the Knicks, so that was added incentive as well. Seriously. He’s going to get an earful tonight."
On that night in 2009, Kobe broke Bernard King’s record for most points scored at the new Madison Square Garden, only to have it broken five years later by Carmelo Anthony who scored 62.
To this day, Kobe holds the title for the most points scored by an opponent at the current MSG.
Next: Elgin Baylor's 71 Point Outburst Against the Knicks