"...Probably Maim You, If I Owe You I'm Blowin' You To Smithereens..."

New Orleans, LA, March 23 (AP) -- Kobe Bryant is making 50-point games look routine. Bryant finished with exactly 50, becoming only the second NBA player to hit that mark in four straight games and leading Los Angeles to a 111-105 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Only Wilt Chamberlain has exceeded that mark, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.


ESPN--Bryant also spoke to a few other items both related and unrelated to his scoring streak:

• He said he still considers Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs the player who defends him best.

• He said he does not think he merits MVP consideration this season, because that award should be reserved for a player on a team with one of the NBA's best records. "You have to honor that. When we get to that point, then maybe I'll get some consideration."

• He claimed he did not know he had 48 points before hitting a tough jumper over Rasual Butler with 5:12 left. "I went up to [assistant coach] Brian Shaw and said, 'Did I get 50 already?' " One player who did know Bryant was on 48 was Butler. "I didn't like being a part of history that way," Butler told me.

• Bryant acknowledged that his scoring streak was spurred by the national debate over whether he was a dirty player after he was suspended twice for elbowing opponents in the face. "For me, that was insulting. To have people talking about something else is a much better thing."

• You may notice on the highlights of Friday night's game how Bryant high-fived a young boy midway through the third quarter after hitting a sick 3-pointer from the left side with a defender draped all over him. I asked Kobe: Why the high-five? "It was a little kid, and he had said, 'What's up,' and I said, 'What's up' back. And I told him: 'Watch this 3. I've got a 3 for you.' "


L.A. Times Laker Blog-... but frankly the Loch Ness Monster could have done a two-step with Tupac at halfcourt of the New Orleans Arena and we'd still be talking about the fact that Kobe has scored fifty or more in four straight games. Can he/the Lakers make it five on Sunday against Golden State? We'll find out.