In the just a 48 hour span, two of the National Basketball Association’s finest delivered out of this world performances at Madison Square Garden. These two great stars showed why the debate of who is the best in recent years is always a hot topic in newspapers and sports shows across the country. What they also showed what the value of the NBA means to them and why fans despite the Knicks are not of any relevance in NBA playoff circle, still come and see them when they are in action.
On Monday night, Los Angles Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant had the 4th highest scoring game of his career with 61 points on 19-of-31 shooting from the field, connecting on 3-for-6 from three point range and going 20-for-20 from the free throw line in the Lakers 126-117 win over the New York Knicks. His 61 points were the most points scored at MSG. That beat out the 60-point output former Knick great Bernard King had on Christmas Day in 1984 in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets. It also beat out famed “double nickels” performance Michael Jordan on Mar. 28, 1995, wearing No. 45 and his famous Air Jordan sneakers in his first game back at MSG when he came back to the NBA.
Two nights later, LeBron James recorded the third best scoring night for an opponent at MSG, while garnered his fourth triple-double of the season with 52 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-102 over the Knicks. He went 17 for 33 from the field and 16 for 19 from the free throw line. His performance also marked the first time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 where a player notched a triple-double while scoring 50 points in an NBA game. This is also the second time in less than a year that James has scored 50-plus at “The World Most Famous Arena.” On Mar. 5, 2008 James scored 50 points going 16 of 30 from the floor, which included 7-13 from the three-point line and 11 for 16 from the free throw line and handed out 10 assists, grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals. The Cavs won that game as well over the Knicks 119-105.
Two both James and Bryant, having a performance like this is not unusual, but doing it in the fashion that they did and in front of the most passionate basketball fans in one of the most special sports venues is something that took them back. It especially got to Bryant when he heard the shouts of “MVP!” from the 19,763 members in the stands.
“This place is special because the fans they’ll boo you the whole game, but they appreciate the game,” Bryant said after the game. “I think tonight it felt great to get that reaction from these fans because it’s them saying we love what you do and it was a great performance and for them to celebrate that a that moment felt great.”
“One thing they are going to do, they are going to cheer when they see greatness and you can’t take that away from them because they are fans, they are fans of the game, they love the game of basketball,” James said on Wednesday.
To both players, performing on stages like this is what they live for. These are moments they dreamed about growing up. With that being said, there is one thing that drives them both to give performances like this. That is winning, particularly this season.
When Monday night had reached its conclusion, Bryant’s performance was great, but on this night he had a lot of help. Center Pau Gasol had 31 points and 14 rebounds and reserve swingman and former Knick Trevor Ariza had 13 points and eight boards to give L.A. their 38 victory of the season to nine defeats. That is the top record in the NBA’s Western Conference.
While James was spectacular, he also had help from his friends as center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and eight rebounds and reserve forward Wally Szczerbiak had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Cleveland’s victory over the Knicks on Wednesday brought their record to 39-9, the second best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
For both players, it is one thing to be great when it matters most, but performing well individually means nothing without getting the victory when the dust settles at the end of the contest. If you do not believe that, just look at the Olympics from this past summer. If you saw it, then you know what winning that gold medal meant to both these Olympians and their teammates.
Along with winning, these two guys who we will see in the 2008 All-Starr Game next Sunday night, respect the history of the game and those that paved the way for them to be who they are on the hardwood.
“This building is special because it’s the last one left,” Bryant says. “You have the Boston Garden, which I never played in. The [Great Western] Forum and then there’s this building. This is the last one that holds all the memories and all the great players and coming up the elevator shaft and thinking about Willis Reed and thinking about Jerry West and all the great rivalries that they had in this building and it makes it very special.”
For two nights, Bryant and the Lakers, James and the Cavs took over the MSG hardwood. They showed us what greatness as the star and leaders of their teams are and why the debate on who the best is at this point of their respective careers continues.
Statistical information and quotations is courtesy of NBA.com, the Tuesday edition of ESPN’s Sportscenter, www.en.wikipedia.org; and the Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 and Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 editions of Newsday.
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