Kobe Scores 97, Beats Raptors In OT
We all know that Kobe has been on a scoring tear lately, but this is ridiculous. Kobe went for a career high 97 points against the Raptors, who took the Lakers into overtime before losing 122-118. Bryant was on fire from the start, and had 28 in the first quarter and 52 by halftime before finishing 35-51 from the field with nine three pointers and 18 free throws. This was truly a performance for the ages, and as hot as Kobe was, the Raptors incredibly chose not to double team him. Here’s Toronto coach Sam Mitchell’s explanation:
“I’ve been in this league a long time, and I’ve never seen a player as hot as Kobe. I saw no reason to double him. I figured he’d have to cool off or get tired eventually, and since we were close the whole game, I figured hell, let him get 100 for all I care, as long as we get the win. Unfortunately he stayed hot all night, you’ve got to give him a lot of credit.”
Sam Mitchell is only partially correct, because he actually has seen this before. Last season, Kobe torched the Raptors for 81, so it’s kind of funny that Mitchell would think that Kobe couldn’t do this to his team again.
Kobe didn’t seem that happy with his performance after the game, and instead seemed to finally open up about what it’s like to be surrounded with such a lack of talent:
“You know, it’s really a shame that it’s come to this. We lose seven straight games, then I start going for 50 a night and we start winning a little. But then the other night against Houston even 53 wasn’t enough. So I was like, what do I have to do, score 100 for us to win? Tonight it was pretty close to that. But when Smush and Lamar combine to go 2-26 from the field, what the [expletive] else am I supposed to do?”
It seems that Kobe has finally had it with his teammates’ lack of support and is ready to single handedly carry this team deep into the playoffs. After a 97-point performance, it’s hard to imagine anything that Kobe isn’t capable of.
14 comments April 1st, 2007