February 2nd, 2009 vs Knicks
Coming into this contest, the most points Kobe had ever scored at Madison Square Garden was 46. When the night was over, a record was broken, and Knicks fans were chanting “MVP” at a player on the opposing team. Of course, that player was Kobe Bryant.
This was another one of Kobe’s pure shooting displays. Though the Knicks have been in disarray for some years now, every player still wants to shine on the brightest stage of all at Madison Square Garden.
The Lakers were on fire heading into this game with a record of 37-9 on the season. But, they had just lost their big man, Andrew Bynum for a few months. Kobe answered in a huge way.
On this winter night in New York, Kobe put up 61 points on 19-of-31 shooting overall, and 3-of-6 from three point land. On top of that, he was a perfect 20-for-20 at the free throw line. This was his 24th game scoring more than 50 points.
Kobe and Pau Gasol scored 92 of the teams 126 points to lead them to a 126-117 victory. At the time, Kobe’s 61 was a new MSG record for most points scored in a game, which was later broken by Carmelo Anthony in 2014 with 62 points.