Kobe Bryant was at his incredible best Tuesday night, scoring a career-high 62 points in just three quarters to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over the Dallas Mavericks 112-90.
The 27-year-old Bryant, who brought a 31.3-point average into the game, shot 18-of-31, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and made 22 of 25 foul shots while playing only 33 minutes......
Bryant scored 15 points in the first quarter, 17 in the second, and a franchise-record 30 in the third before taking a seat for good with the Lakers leading 95-61.
The previous Lakers record for points in a quarter was 24 shared by Bryant and Hall of Famers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
The NBA record for points in a quarter is 33 by George Gervin for San Antonio in 1978. Denver's David Thompson scored 32 in a quarter that same season, and Wilt Chamberlain scored 31 in a quarter for Philadelphia in 1962, when he set the single-game NBA record with 100 points.
Baylor scored a franchise-record 71 points on Nov. 15, 1960, at New York. Bryant's total is the sixth-highest in club history and the most for the Lakers since Chamberlain scored 66 at Phoenix on Feb. 9, 1969.
The capacity crowd of 18,997 began chanting, "We want Kobe! We want Kobe!" early in the final period, but with the Lakers holding an insurmountable lead, there was no need for coach Phil Jackson to put the 6-foot-6 star back into the game.
Bryant matched his previous career high of 56 points by making two free throws with 1:02 left in the third quarter. He went on to score six more points in the period, capping his amazing night by making a long 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left.
As the period ended – after Los Angeles had outscored Dallas 42-17 – Bryant held a hand to his ear, and the volume increased even more. Bryant then called it a night.
Bryant became the first NBA player to reach 60 points since Philadelphia's Allen Iverson scored 60 in a 112-99 victory over Orlando last February.
Bryant reached the 50-point plateau for the sixth time in his career, and the first since March 28, 2003, against Washington. Cleveland's LeBron James had the previous single-game high this season with 52 points on Dec. 10.
Nobody else scored in double figures for the Lakers (14-11), who won for the eighth time in 10 games. The loss was just the second in 10 games for the Mavericks (18-7). The other defeat was a 109-106 setback to the Lakers on Dec. 12 in Dallas, when Bryant scored 43 points.
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mavericks. Like Bryant, he sat out the fourth quarter. Devin Harris also scored 18 for Dallas before fouling out with 3:15 to play.
Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said before the game he would use "the whole team" to guard Bryant, and several different Dallas players gave it a go with very little success.
Johnson was ejected after being hit with two technical fouls early in the third quarter.
Steve Javie called technicals on Johnson and Nowitzki with 10:16 left in the period after Nowitzki was inadvertently struck in the face by Bryant, but was called for a foul.
Johnson picked up his second technical 2½ minutes later, leaving with the Mavericks trailing 68-50. Bryant had 41 points at that stage.
Bryant was 11-of-18 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and 8-of-9 from the foul line for 32 points at halftime. Lamar Odom was the Lakers' second-leading scorer at that stage with six points.
Bryant had 15 points and five rebounds in the first nine minutes to spark the Lakers to a 22-17 lead. It was 25-18 entering the second period.
Notes: Dallas guard Jerry Stackhouse hopes to play for the first time this season Friday night in Seattle. He hasn't played because of an injured right knee. "I'm just thankful the time has come for me to be out there," said Stackhouse, averaging 20.4 points in his 10-year NBA career. ... The Lakers are 8-5 on the road compared to 6-6 at home. ... Dallas G Marquis Daniels returned to action after missing two games because of a strained neck and had six points in 25 minutes. ... Rick Fox, who helped the Lakers win three championships before retiring after the 2003-04 season, was honored in a brief ceremony after the first quarter.
By John Nadel
ASSOCIATED PRESS
10:17 p.m. December 20, 2005
