Kobe Still Looks Good for 40

The Lakers won and Kobe Bryant scored 41 points and then said he was sorry. It just swept him away, he said, the crowd begging for him to do it again, and Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan out there somewhere, and his teammates not seeming to mind and, you know, it was right there.

So, he took 34 shots, any of the last six of which would have given him 40, before going to the free-throw line with 23.6 seconds remaining, only then reaching that magical number for the ninth consecutive game.

The Lakers have won the last four of them, Sunday night by 106-101 over the Seattle SuperSonics at Staples Center, and 11 of 13 overall since Phil Jackson asked Bryant to crank up the offense a bit. Only Chamberlain has had a longer string of 40-point games (14 twice, 10 once). Bryant also has a streak of 13 consecutive games of 35 or more points and, again, only Chamberlain has had one longer.

“It was interesting,” Bryant said. “The crowd was really into it. The opposition was going to do everything in their power to stop me from getting it. I took us out of our system, but that’s such a tough challenge to back down from. I had to apologize to my teammates. It was tough because of the challenge ahead of me. These five guys wanted to stop me from scoring a single basket. I’m willing to take my odds on that.”

He’s driven them to seventh place in the Western Conference, past the Houston Rockets and, as of this morning, the Phoenix Suns, and to five games over .500 (30-25) for the first time. He carried them through a perilous stretch of their season when Shaquille O’Neal was dragging a bum knee and toe or unable to play altogether, and when the defense took whole weeks off, so Jackson laughed off a game in which Bryant was seduced into shooting. Bryant missed 18 of 24 jump shots and 21 of the 34 shots overall and when he missed fall-aways and hangers and one-on-threes in six late possessions, everyone stiffened as the SuperSonics, once down 11, drew to within five.

“Well,” Jackson said, “I wasn’t sure if Kobe was going to chase that 40 points so bad that he was going to cut our chances out there at the end of the game. It got a little bit tenuous. But all things worked together for the good.

“I think when we had a 10-point lead he kind of assumed that it was free bait and quick shots didn’t matter.... We had to tough it out a little bit at the end of that game.”

Jackson revealed that afterward he felt it necessary to remind Bryant of the overall good, their overall game, and apparently Bryant nodded his agreement. It seems the Lakers are willing to play along, happy for Bryant’s success within their own, as long as it continues that way. O’Neal, in his second game back after sitting out three with his sore knee and toe and still playing a bit low and slow, had 27 points and 17 rebounds, 15 of them in the second half. He took 16 shots.

“There are a lot of weapons on this team,” O’Neal said. “Whatever weapon is working ... we’ll stay with that. Right now he’s shooting the ball pretty well and he’s putting together a lot of games of 40. It’s all about winning. If we can continue winning then I’m sure it’s fine with everybody.

“Kobe’s all about making history. He beat Mike [Jordan] the other day. He’s close to it. The fans were egging him on. You know, we had a little cushion there, so I guess it’s cool.”

He guessed. Asked if he thought Bryant, who was four for 19 from the floor in the second half, had forced shots at the end, O’Neal answered, “I wasn’t looking.”

The issues of Bryant’s right knee, sore and tight early in the week because of tendinitis, appear over. He slashed to the basket, shot 16 free throws and ran pretty well in defense against Ray Allen, who had 26 points -- on nine-for-27 shooting -- in his first game for the SuperSonics. Allen also had 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Rashard Lewis scored 28 points.

The Lakers held them off with a 38-point second quarter, by forcing 18 turnovers, and with 13 offensive rebounds in the second half. Devean George scored 14 points. Mark Madsen, who started at power forward, had five points and six rebounds in another frenetic 22 minutes. Robert Horry might have started for Samaki Walker, who sprained his right ankle Wednesday and hasn’t played since, but Horry experienced what Jackson called “nerve irritation” in his back.

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On a Tear

After scoring 11 points (four for 14 from the field, two for three from the line) against New Jersey on Jan. 24, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have been on a tear:

*--* Jan. 29 Win at Phoenix 40 15-29,10-11 Jan. 31 Win at Sacramento 38 14-29, 7-8 Feb. 1 Win vs. Utah 42 12-25, 16-18 Feb. 4 Win at Indiana 35 12-31, 10-10 Feb. 6 Win at New York 46 17-27, 8-11 Feb. 11 Win vs. Denver 42 12-20, 17-21 Feb. 12 Win at Denver 51 15-28, 18-20 Feb. 14 Loss vs. S.A 44 19-41, 4-6 Feb. 16 Loss vs. New York 40 14-31, 9-10 Feb. 18 Win vs. Houston 52 19-38, 11-11 Feb. 19 Win at Utah 40 15-29, 6-9 Feb. 21 Win vs. Portland 40 15-32, 7-9 Feb. 23 Win vs. Seattle 41 13-34, 14-16

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Scoring Leaders

Orlando’s Tracy McGrady scored 46 points to Kobe Bryant’s 41 Sunday, keeping him atop the NBA leading scorers list:

*--* G FG FT PTS AVG McGrady, Orlando 51 559 380 1,599 31.4 Bryant, Lakers 55 607 402 1,693 30.8 Iverson, Phila 55 526 385 1,494 27.2 Pierce, Boston 55 473 424 1,453 26.4 O’Neal, Lakers 40 391 253 1,035 25.9

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