Eighty isn’t enough

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant kept shooting, from all over the court and from every angle.

By halftime, he had 26 points – not a bad tally for most players. By the end of the game, he put up the second-highest total in NBA history.

The Los Angeles Lakers star scored a staggering 81 points Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors in a 122-104 win. Only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game stands ahead of him.

“It just happened,” Bryant said. “It’s tough to explain. It’s just one of those things.”

“It really hasn’t set in,” he said. “To sit here and say I grasp what happened tonight, I’d be lying.”

The NBA’s leading scorer left to a standing ovation with 4.2 seconds remaining, having shot 28 of 46 from the floor and 18 of 20 from the foul line. He was 7 of 13 from 3-point range.

With the fans at Staples Center chanting “MVP! MVP!” Bryant made two free throws with 43.4 seconds remaining for his final points. He scored 28 in the fourth quarter, 27 in the third.

Chamberlain scored 100 points for Philadelphia against New York in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. His second-highest total was 78 against the Lakers in three overtimes on Dec. 8, 1961.

Elgin Baylor held the previous franchise record of 71 at New York on Nov. 15, 1960. Lakers assistant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, saw that game, too.

“Elgin’s game was an incredible performance, also. I don’t think there’s any comparison. Elgin did it without 3-point lines. His game was attacking the hoop and hitting jumpers inside 20 feet. Kobe’s range is unreal, and he does it his way,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

“It was a real treat. His ability to shoot from long range and also attack the hoop, split the defense and get in close for opportunities near the basket is unique. He’s made a niche for himself and he deserves it.”

Michael Jordan’s career high was 69 points, and only four players had ever scored more than 70 – Chamberlain, Baylor, David Thompson and David Robinson.

His previous career high was 62 points during a 112-90 victory over Dallas last month – he sat out the fourth quarter because of the one-sided nature of the game.

“I was just determined. I was just locked in, tuned into what was going on out there,” Bryant said.

Bryant is averaging 35.9 points per game this season.

“We definitely wanted to get it to him tonight,” teammate Smush Parker said. “He had the hot hand.

“We knew he had it in him.”