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Kobe’s 39 KOs Knicks

NEW YORK – This was a day that couldn’t have happened last season, simply because the Los Angeles Lakers -barring a chance meeting in the NBA Finals- will only visit Madison Square Garden once. Which means that, for today, it was all about Kobe Bryant.

Los Angeles [17-10], which entered with victories in seven of their last nine games, were last here eleven months ago. But that January 30 contest was marred by the NBA’s sudden ruling to suspend Bryant, who was suspended one game for his incidental contact with the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili two days earlier.

The All-Star guard, who openly calls the Garden his favorite NBA arena, did not disappoint the sellout crowd. Bryant dropped in 39 points, including the 20,000th of his magnificent career, as the Lakers edged the Knicks, 95-90, on Sunday afternoon. New York, again tied with the Miami Heat for the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 8-19, has now lost eight of its last ten.

“It is special to do that here,” he acknowledged afterward, while addressing the media, with his two daughters in tow, inside the Garden’s main interview room. “This is the Mecca.”

Bryant, who needed 20 points to become the youngest ever [29 year, 122 days] to reach the milestone plateau, tallied 17 points in the first half as the Los Angeles built a 55-37 lead. Then, with 11:08 remaining in the third pointer, he nailed a three-pointer to surpass Wilt Chamberlain [29 years, 134 days] and Michael Jordan [29 years, 326 days]. The Garden did not acknowledge the feat, either on their scoreboard or over the public address system.

Bryant -who averages 26 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals per game for a team he does not wish to play for- added 11 rebounds and eight assists, narrowly missing his first triple-double since April, 2005.

The Lakers’ supporting cast was led by Andrew Bynum [13 points, eight boards] and Lamar Odom [nine points and six rebounds, before fouling out in the waning moments].

During L.A.’s 106-101 win at Philadelphia on Friday, the 20 year-old center surpassed 1,000 career points. Like his more popular teammate, Bynum was also racing the clock; subsequently, he became the seventh youngest player to reach 1,000 points, trailing LeBron James [19 years, 41 days] and Bryant [19 years, 127 days], among others.

By virtue of yet another Bryant’s trey, the Lakers had moved to a 70-45 margin before the New York, once again, made a late run. Then, Jamal Crawford scored 12 of his 16 third-quarter points, including a finger roll at the buzzer, to pull the Knicks within 75-61.

Crawford tallied all but one of his team-high 31 points in the second half. He added 14 more in the final stanza, while playing all 12 minutes and hitting each of his six free throw attempts.

Nate Robinson finished with 16, but missed 10 of 15 shots. But, in the first half, he was involved in three different sequences that cost New York seven critical points. He missed two uncontested lay-ups, and his failure to recognize the end of the second quarter was responsible for the officials to disallow Quentin Richardson’s made shot from beyond the arc.

“Jamal had an incredible second half,” noted Bryant. “They made a great surge to get back into the ballgame, and had an opportunity to steal this one from us. It was a 14-point game, and Jamal was just starting to heat up.”

However, it was the play that couldn’t be made which also attributed to the defeat. The Knicks, faced with a double-digit deficit until the 3:52 mark, required five crucial free throws by Crawford, in additional to a pair of running jump shots, to reduce the lead to 91-88. While Crawford had, personally, scored nine points in 1:13, David Lee [13 rebounds, 12 points] hit a pair from the line to make it a one-point game.

“[Crawford] was making shots off the dribble all game. He was tough,” said Phil Jackson, who moved into sole possession of eighth place with his 936th coaching victory, and needs just two more to catch Red Auerbach.

After Bryant tallied the final two points of his splendid afternoon on a 14’ shot from inside the three-point line, Jordan Farmar thwarted New York last hope by stealing Lee’s inbound pass at midcourt and hitting an uncontested dunk for the final margin.

Notes: Stephon Marbury, who is scheduled to make $17 million this season, has missed eight of the last 11 games since his father passed away on December 2. Isiah Thomas has remained sympathetic toward Marbury’s situation, and did not even suggest that his point guard might be taking advantage of the prolonged absence. Marbury has already appealed the $195,000 fine for skipping the November 13 contest in Phoenix.

Tagged with: Andrew Bynum, Chance Meeting, Interview Room, Knicks New York, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, Madison Square Garden, Magnificent Career, Manu Ginobili, Miami Heat, Michael Jordan, Nba Arena, Nba Finals, Public Address System, San Antonio Spurs, Sellout Crowd, Star Guard, Triple Double, Wilt Chamberlain

Kobe’s 39 KOs Knicks

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