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NEWS AND NOTES
Apr 16: Kobe Bryant made some franchise history and the Lakers
finished the regular season by moving up a spot for the playoffs...
Bryant scored 44 points as the Lakers defeated the Golden State
Warriors 117-111 on Wednesday night, earning the fifth seed in
the Western Conference... Los Angeles lost 19 of its first 30
games and had many wondering if the three-time defending champions
would even make the playoffs. But the Lakers went 39-13 since December
25 and barely missed gaining home-court advantage in the playoffs...
Bryant ended the regular season with a scoring average of 30.0.
He is the third Laker in history to average at least as many,
the first since Jerry West scored 31.2 points per game in the 1969-70
season. West averaged 30 four times, Elgin Baylor three times...
Bryant also is the fifth NBA player to average at least 30
points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The others: Oscar Robertson, Jerry
West, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain... Kobe scroed 40 or more
points 19 times this season...
Mar 28: Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson saw many spectacular
performances by Michael Jordan. Now he marvels at Kobe Bryant...
Kobe scored 55 points, the most in the NBA this season, as
the Lakers defeated Jordan and the Washington Wizards 108-94 on
Friday night... "That was an incredible demonstration,"
Jackson said. "It came to a point where there was that curiosity
factor: Was he going to hit 80?" ... Bryant made everyone think
of the possibilities when he scored 42 in the first half, breaking
the team record for points in a half of 37, set by Elgin Baylor
against the New York Knicks on Nov. 15, 1960... In that half Kobe
made eight three-pointers and 14 of 19 field-goal attempts. The
eight three-pointer tied a league record, set by Milwaukee's Tim
Thomas two seasons ago, and tied by teammates Michael Redd and Ray Allen last season.
Mar 20: Sacramento was a witness while Shaquille O'Neal became
the 28th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points. He finished
with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Shaq got his 20,000th point on a
turnaround jumper 65 seconds before halftime. The Kings didn't stop
the game to announce the achievement, and when the public address
announcer congratulated O'Neal at halftime, the announcement was
drowned out by booing.
Mar 5: In the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 97-95
victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, a game won on
Horry's 20-footer at the final buzzer, Bryant reached 10,000 points
for his career, making him the youngest player in NBA history
to reach that plateau.
Youngest Players to Reach 10,000 Points:
Kobe Bryant. L.A. Lakers (24 yrs., 193 days)
Bob McAdoo, Buffalo Braves (25 yrs., 148 days)
Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers (25 yrs., 341 days)
Michael Jordan, Chicago (25 yrs., 343 days)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee (25 yrs., 344 days)
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Atlanta (26 yrs., 17 days)
Feb 25: One of the great scoring streaks in NBA history came
to an end... Kobe Bryant settled for 32 points, failing to reach
40 for the first time in 10 games and failing to reach 35 for the
first time in 14 contests... With his remarkable streak of scoring
-- at least 40 points in 9 straight games-- Bryant equaled the best
such streak of Michael Jordan, who did so early in the 1986-87
season... The only player with longer streaks of 40 or more points
is Wilt Chamberlain. The NBA's fourth-leading career scorer, Chamberlain
accomplished the feat in 14 straight games twice in the 1961-62
season and in 10 straight the following season... Bryant also scored
at least 35 points in 13 consecutive games. Again, Chamberlain is
the only player ahead of him in that department, having accomplished
that feat in 33, 23 and 20 straight games...
Feb 9: Kobe Bryant was fouled on a three-pointer with one second
left in the first overtime and hit 2-of-3 from the line to force
a second OT, where the West dominated on the way to a 155-145 victory
over the East in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. Kobe finished
with 22 points and Shaquille O'Neal posted 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Jan 24: For the first time in his career Kobe Bryant received
the most votes in NBA All-Star Balloting that determines starters
for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game .Bryant received 1,474,386 votes
out of the more than 4.5 million ballots cast.
Jan 7: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant set
two NBA records: 12 three-point baskets, including a
single-game record nine in a row, and the Lakers defeated
the Seattle SuperSonics 119-98...
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