Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history

Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history: 6. Kobe Bryant loves playing in the Garden

Outside of Staples Center, Kobe Bryant always expressed how much he loved playing at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks.

During his legendary career, Bryant cooked every team on the court but against the Knicks, he was especially cruel. His 26.5 points per game against them were his sixth highest against any other team in his career. On an early February night in 2009, he torched them with no remorse.

With the Knicks dishing out another poor team that year, they actually kept up with a Lakers squad that would go on to win it all. By the time the game ended, the Knicks would have six total players in double digits, including three who scored at least 20. The Lakers would only have three, but Kobe’s 61 was more than enough to take care of business. Bryant’s 61 wasn’t a result of simply chucking the ball up every chance he got, he was ridiculously efficient. He shot 61.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line and nailed all 20 of his free throws.

When you have it going as Bryant did, there was simply no way he was going to rack up assists, finishing with three on the night. But still, Bryant was red hot. His 61 points were the most scored by a visiting player in the Garden until James Harden tied that record in 2019.

Whenever Bryant stepped onto the stage in New York, fans knew he was going to put on a show.