كتب : Omar Shoeb
Bryant came close to Wilt Chamberlain’s own record-setting number of 100 points against the New York Knicks on March second, 1962.
"Not even in my dreams. This was something that just happened. It is tough to explain. It is just one of those things," Kobe was quoted as saying on the official NBA website.
"I've seen some remarkable games but I've never seen anything like that before. It's just a personal challenge for him to attack the whole team. It was not exactly the way you want to win a game, but when you have to win a game, it's great to have that weapon to be able to do it. We rode the hot hand," Lakers coach Phil Jackson added.
Bryant, who outscored the Raptors by 14 points after the half-time, went on to net 55 points, after finishing 26 points before the break.
"The tough thing about it was that he hit tough shots. If you look at the third quarter, I thought our guys were there. We had two guys on him at times. We doubled him, and he would split them. We tried playing zone, and he just shot that ball from the hashmark. We played box-and-1. I haven't played that since my college days," Toronto coach Sam Michell said about trying to stop Bryant’s scoring streak.
Bryant broke his previous record of 62 points, which he set in the Laker’s game against Dallas in December, and made 28 out of 46 shots, those include seven out of 13 three-pointers, and 18 out of 20 free throws.
"I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned in to what was going on out there and blocked everything out. I zeroed in on being more aggressive and setting the tempo. This was very similar to the Dallas game as far as my mentality." Bryant added.
Asked about his comparison to legendary player Michael Jordan, Bryant said: "Through my career I've been compared to him so many times, and I just wish it would stop. He's Michael Jordan and I'm Kobe Bryant; we're two different players. I just wish people would let it go because it really annoys me.
"You can't compare what I'm doing to what he's done. He's probably one of the greatest if not the greatest player of all time; there's no comparison. I really wish people would stop measuring up what I do to in comparison to what he's done," he insisted.
Smush Parker and Lamar Odom added the remaining points to secure the Laker’s astonishing victory.