Kobe Drops 52
Posted on December 1st, 2006 by
He’s back yall, after averaging 10 less points a game than last season, Kobe Bryant exploded out of his shell tonight to lead the Lakers in a blowout victory over the 13-4 Jazz. Not only that but he retied the Laker team record for most points in a quarter (30), made 11 consecutive shots at one point of the game, shot a blazing 19-26 from the floor and 12-15 from the line. One word… unstoppable
The Kobe Show is back.
Looking completely recovered from offseason knee surgery, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 52 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 132-102 rout of the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
He made all nine shots from the floor and was 10-for-10 at the foul line in his highest-scoring game since an 81-point outburst against Toronto on Jan. 22 last season. He had 30 points in the third quarter, tying his own team record set during a 62-point effort against Dallas on Dec. 20.
“I felt great. I felt explosive,” Bryant said. “It’s just about trusting my knee and trusting my legs. And after tonight, I know I’m at that point right now where I feel like I know it’s going to be there.”
Coach Phil Jackson did something completely out of character when Bryant left the court for the final time: He gave the Lakers’ star a high-five and hugged him.
“It’s great to watch Kobe have a great night like that, but I thought our defense stepped up, too,” Jackson said.
Bryant, whose relationship with Jackson has been rocky at times, said, “We have such a great relationship. And when I play, I play to please him. So if he stands up (on his surgically repaired hip) and gives me a high-five, then I know I’ve done my job.”
Bryant, who topped the 50-point plateau for the 12th time in his career, made 11 shots in a row beginning just before halftime and extending through the third quarter. He finally missed when he drove and looped a shot that bounced off the back of the rim with 7:44 left in the game, shortly after he had returned to the floor with the Lakers up by 20.
Jackson said Bryant, who led the league in scoring with a 35.4 average last season, looks as if he’s almost fully back in form. #
