He Was in Three-Point Trance

In the spirit of the perfect randomness that has smothered this Laker basketball season, when mediocrity (.500) has become the short-term goal, it is of course the Lakers who would make two of 21 three-point baskets on a Saturday night and 17 of 32 on the following Tuesday.

And perhaps only Kobe Bryant, a bit leg-weary from going on three months of heavy lifting, could be both 0 for 8 and 12 for 18 from the arc over the same four days.

And, then, only at Staples Center, where boos have blown the three-time defending champions from the floor on some nights, and standing ovations have carried off the same players on others.

Amid a city of basketball fans yearning for something to cheer about, Bryant stepped forward and set shooting records nearly a quarter of a century in the making, making 12 three-pointers and nine in a row -- both NBA records -- in Tuesday night’s victory over the Seattle SuperSonics. The NBA adopted the three-point line for the 1979-80 season and, as of Tuesday afternoon, no player had made more than 11 three-pointers or more than eight in a row in a single game.

Afterward, trying to define the indefinable shooter’s zone, Bryant, a career 31.4% three-point shooter, said, “Even the ones I missed I thought were going in.”

So did everyone else.

“We’ve all gotten so used to seeing him do remarkable things,” Laker guard Derek Fisher said.

Bryant made his nine consecutive three-pointers over 10 minutes, 51 seconds of game time, from 5:28 left in the second quarter to 5:23 gone in the third, nine three-pointers over 22 Laker possessions.

“I don’t think most guys can do that in a gym by themselves,” SuperSonic Coach Nate McMillan said.

Eight of the three-pointers were assisted, four by Shaquille O’Neal from the post, one each by Brian Shaw, Rick Fox, Robert Horry and Tracy Murray, the last four shooters among those who know a groove when they see one.

“That’s something you rarely see in this league,” Fox said, “nights like this by great players.”

Just before that, he had grinned and said, “I’m next, right?”

Bill Sharman, a Laker special consultant and a Hall of Fame player, watched from his usual seat at Staples Center, thinking of what he calls “the summation of force,” Bryant’s shooting style, starting at his toes and concluding at his fingertips, finally in the release of the basketball.

“His three-point percentage doesn’t indicate how good he is,” Sharman said. “He has great form when he is on balance and has time.... And, he’s a good shooter when he’s falling down.”

Then again, said Sharman, who will be 77 in May, “I’ve never seen anybody get that hot.... It was remarkable. A privilege to see. That record might hold up for quite a while.”

Fox spent his rookie year playing with Larry Bird in Boston, and recalled Bird’s minimalist form. He held his fingers about two inches apart, illustrating the distance between Converse sole and parquet floor when Bird released his jump shots.

“A lot of times, he didn’t even jump,” Fox said. “It’s the elevation sometimes that creates the problem.”

Five years ago, Murray scored 50 points in a game against the Golden State Warriors, needing only five three-pointers to get there.

Murray is going on 2,000 three-point attempts in his career, making 39%. And never -- never, he said -- had he seen something like what Bryant had done.

“He was in a zone, man,” he said. “I know what it’s like. That 50-point night, I made shots, I mean, I don’t know how they went in.

“It was one of those nights he could have thrown it from behind his back and they would have gone in.... He was just letting them fly. I thought, ‘Keep shooting it, Kobe! Keep shooting it!’ When you see somebody that hot, you want them to keep firing.”

So he would.

“I mean, it wasn’t like the basket was so huge, but it just felt like my rhythm was great,” Bryant said. “I just felt an incredible rhythm. And the calmness. It wasn’t like I was rushing or anything like that. It just felt really, really calm, and like if I shoot it I am going to make it.”

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Kobe’s Streak

Kobe Bryant made nine three-point baskets in a row in a span of 10:51 against Seattle on Tuesday:

*--* No Time Remaining Location Second quarter 1 5:28 Top of the key. 25 feet 2 4:39 Top left. 26 feet 3 3:18 Top right. 26 feet 4 2:40 Right wing. 26 feet 5 2:05 Top. 26 feet 6 :30.1 Right wing. 25 feet Third quarter 7 9:19 Left wing. 25 feet 8 7:17 Top left. 25 feet 9 6:37 Top. 25 feet

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