Saturday, February 18, 2006
The NBA All-Star game record is 42 points, and he has scored 81 this season.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Even when it's only an exhibition, everyone wants to ask Kobe Bryant about point totals.
Bryant won't make any predictions about how many he'll put up tonight in the NBA All-Star game, even though scoring has made him the biggest attraction in the league during the first half of the season.
"I just look forward to going out there and winning the game, playing defense, believe it or not, doing whatever we need to win the game," he said.
Uh, sorry Kobe. People in more than 200 countries aren't tuning in to watch you block shots.
The possibilities seem endless. After scoring 81 points in a game this season, imagine how many Bryant can get in a game where there is little defense played.
"I think it's fun to have the discussions about Kobe," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "I think it's a terrific water cooler subject. Can he go for 100? Can he outscore a team by himself?
Would be a challenge
The latter seems unlikely, given that the Eastern Conference counters with Allen Iverson and LeBron James, who trail Bryant in what is shaping up as the most exciting scoring race in years.
Bryant went into the All-Star break averaging 35 points, with Iverson at 33.2 and James at 31.2. The NBA hasn't had three players average 30 or more points since 1982, when George Gervin beat out Moses Malone and Adrian Dantley to win the scoring title.
Bryant and Iverson have already been the stars in the NBA's showcase.
Iverson won his second MVP award in the East's victory last year in Denver, and Bryant took the award in 2002 after scoring 31 points back home in Philadelphia.
Maybe now it's James' turn. The Cleveland star headed into his second All-Star game after scoring 43 points in a win over San Antonio on Monday, then adding 43 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists Wednesday night in a victory over Boston.
James, the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, made his All-Star debut last year with 13 points, and he goes into the break with comfortable playoff position -- which Bryant and Iverson don't have -- leading the Cavs to the third-best record in the East.
All-Star scoring record
The All-Star game record, by the way, is 42 points, and Bryant wasn't surprised at all to learn who held it.
"Wilt? Oh, couldn't have guessed that one," he said with a smile.
Chamberlain set that record in 1962, the year of his 100-point game. Bryant's total of 81 against Toronto in January was the next-highest in an NBA game.
All-Star weekend is back in Houston for the first time since 1989, when the game drew 44,735 fans at the Astrodome. It's a rare chance to celebrate this season for the city's fans, who have watched the Rockets stumble into last place while enduring injuries to Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.
Both players will start for the West, and Yao could garner more attention from the worldwide audience than any of the other 23 All-Stars. China has sent a seven electronic media outlets to Houston.
With players such as Memphis' Pau Gasol (Spain) and San Antonio's Tony Parker (France) making their first All-Star game appearances, the game is being televised in 44 languages. More than 300 international media members were scheduled to be in Houston for the weekend festivities, included the 3-point and dunk contests Saturday night.
XSaturday's special events were not completed in time for today's edition.