Kobe Bryant’s 81 or Carmelo Anthony’s 33?

December 14 08

Each week, HoopsVibe the Blog drops a player comparison for fans to weigh in on. We call it head-to-head ...

Occasionally, basketball fans witness history. Goose bumps overtake their body because they know the player, team, or teams they’re watching are dropping a special, record-breaking performance.

For me, I love when a player hits his offensive zone. You know what I mean –an individual gets so hot from the floor he believes the basket is bigger than Oprah and Dr. Phil. All shots, no matter how improbable, go in.

Two players have gotten down like the combined weight of our favourite talk show divas. In late January 2006, Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant scorched Toronto for 81 points, while recently Denver’s Carmelo Anthony tallied 33 points in a single quarter versus Minnesota.

In this edition of head-to-head, HoopsVibe The Blog wants to know which scoring spree is most impressive: Black Mamba’s 81 total points or Melo’s 33 in a 12 minute frame? As always, read both arguments, watch both video clips, and drop an opinion in the comment box below.

The case for Bryant’s 81 points …

It was the second-highest scoring outburst of all time.
Wilt Chamberin, a seven-footer, set the all-time mark against smaller players and less sophisticated athletes.
Bryant went off despite the Raptors using man-to-man, box-in-one, zone, denial, and several other elaborate defensive systems.
Phil Jackson, a veteran NBA player, Hall of Fame coach, and bench boss for the Lakers and Bulls’ dynasties, commented, "That was something to behold. It was another level. I’ve seen some remarkable games, but I’ve never seen one like that before."

The case for Anthony’s 33 points in a quarter …

He matched a thirty-year old record set by George ‘Ice Man’ Gervin.
In the past, Anthony has been called selfish. The Nuggets, however, needed his scoring to beat a hungry T-Wolf side.
Chauncey Billups, a world champion and All-Star, had this to say: “I’ve played against some great ones and played with some great ones. That’s the best I’ve ever seen in a 12-minute span.”

Our Call: Bryant gets the slight nod; 81 points is ridiculous. However, I believe Anthony has evolved and matured. On Wednesday, he provided a necessary lift with his 33-point outburst and then unselfishly followed the team concept for the rest of the night.

Bryant’s 81 or Anthony’s 33? Which scoring outburst is most impressive? Get at us in the comment box below and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of gg99.

46 Comments: Kobe Bryant’s 81 or Carmelo Anthony’s 33?

Posted by
oshake
on 04.10.2009

kobe is a good player and so is carmelo if you look at there stats kobe is only a couple percentage point better than carmelo...so i take my hat off to carmelo i going to still cheer for melo .

Posted by

on 02.28.2009

Kobe Bryant is not selfish.He doesn’t want all the points, praises and history by himself.It’s just that he scores a lot because he has to, as his other team members doesn’t score enough for them to win. So if Kobe doesn’t score so much, who else will score in his team that could make them to win?It’s very simple,NONE, so its Kobe in the end really. Right?Get my point?He is a team worker actually, scoring so much points for HIS TEAM to win, and I bet, his team wants it anyways as they are genuinely always passing the ball to Kobe because they know that Kobe is the only one who can finish it off.So what does Kobe do?Make shots.WIN BIG TIME.Period.The Lakers team are at their best right now with Kobe,Pau,Derek,Odom,Trevor,Farmar and Bynum. .

Posted by
Harry
on 01.29.2009

what a stupid comparison. Kobe’s scored 30 in a quarter 2wice in his career, once being against the Dallas Mavs in the 3rd quarter. When that quarter ended, Kobe had 62, Dallas had 61. The other 30 point quarter Kobe had was against Andrei Kirilenko, going 11/11 in the 3rd quarter and dropping facials all over the place over TOUGH D. NUFF SAID THIS AIN’T A LEGIT COMPARISON. .

Posted by
melo boy
on 01.16.2009

when i see any other player in the league score 34 points in a quarter ill say there better than melo .

Posted by

on 12.19.2008

yeah, but that’s exactly it: no one can ever score 30 points consistently every quarter. it’s easier to score 30 points in one quarter, than to score 81 points in one game. think about why so many players have been able to score 30 or close to 30 points a quarter, but only a few have even come close to scoring 80 in an entire game. .

Posted by

on 12.18.2008

if mellz scored something similar every quarter that game.....ur lookin at like 120 or 115 .

Posted by
Robb Lo
on 12.17.2008

Melo’s 33 is impressive but he only ended up with 45 points. Now Kobe on the other hand put in work for the ENTIRE game. My nod has to go to Kobe. We probably wont’ see anyone get remotely close to this in a long long time. .

Posted by
ronh
on 12.17.2008

kobe is better he scored what teams are scoring now 81 points. KB24 BAby. .

Posted by
Tray
on 12.17.2008

Kobe is the greatest his 81 is definitleybetter than Melo’s 33 because when kobe scored 81 he scored 56 in the second half so he had what 31 in the 3rd quarter and like 25 in the 4th .

Posted by

on 12.16.2008

pater, do you even know what happened in the 81 point game? do you think the lakers were waltzing their way to a victory over the raptors? the raptors were eating the lakers alive into the 3rd quarter when the lakers were almost down by 20 points. the lakers needed every single point kobe made in order to get out of the hole, just like the nuggets needed to get out of a hole. get your head out of your hole. .

Posted by
pater
on 12.16.2008

Melo`s 33 points are more valuable and he got them trying harder than Kobe and more over Nuggets needed them more than Lakers at a moment. So, not personally Melo but his 12 minutes play was better than Kobe`s. .

Posted by
triplepcho24
on 12.16.2008

Kobe’s 81 is my choice, come on man Kobe errupted for 50 something points after half time! .

Posted by

on 12.15.2008

33 or more in a quarter my bad .

Posted by

on 12.15.2008

Im pretty sure Kobe has scored 33 or maybe more in a game im 100 percent he did in the 81 point game and the game against Dallas early that season so this ? isnt relevant .

Posted by
idiots
on 12.15.2008

"No Doubt, Carmelo’s 33 in one quarter was harder than Kobe’s 81 points because the defense played on Kobe was weak." LOL. You call the Wolves good defense? They’re one of the worst teams in the NBA too! LOL Why don’t great players score 80 points against horrible teams every game? Because it’s still hard you morons. You people probably never touched a basketball in your life. .

Posted by
edd1#bryant
on 12.15.2008

kobe keepd consistincy thru out the game sry melo kobes hs got ths 1. .

Posted by

on 12.15.2008

Gotta go with MELO .

Posted by
Manny Pacquiao will destroy Floyd Mayweather
on 12.15.2008

No Doubt, Carmelo’s 33 in one quarter was harder than Kobe’s 81 points because the defense played on Kobe was weak. .

Posted by
J. Nguyen
on 12.15.2008

Nothing is too outrageous or "insane" to compare unless someone is comparing Matt Fish to Mark Madsen or Jud Buschler to JJ Redick. That could have been a better issue to discuss. .

Posted by
TC mix-tape exclusive
on 12.15.2008

Come on dude!slw ppl kno da answer 2 questions like these!Kobe averages like 33!dat aint crap!Melo did good,knowin dat he iz a rook,but still.....i watched dat game wit Kobe!Sry Melo...he got u on dat 1!I like u tho!lol .

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Kobe Bryant’s 81 or Carmelo Anthony’s 33?

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