SEEING IS BELIEVING BRYANT'S PERFORMANCE EVOKES COMPARISONS OF CHAMBERLAIN'S NIGHT - WHICH WAS VIEWED BY FEW.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

As long as Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game lives on through a black-and-white photo and a myth that grows larger by the day, what Kobe Bryant did Sunday night at Staples Center will carry a distinction all its own.

Bryant rewrote the record books with his 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, a number that still defied belief Monday, the second highest-scoring game for any player after Chamberlain's immortal night in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962.

But Bryant's game will go down in history as the greatest ever seen, if only because so few saw Chamberlain score 100 for the Philadelphia Warriors. No video footage exists, let alone is available for download on Google, as is the case with Bryant's game.

``All we can do,'' said former Philadelphia guard Al Attles, who played in the 100-point game, ``is those of us who are still living can talk about it and the million people who were in the arena can tell their stories.''

Only 4,124 people were in attendance for Chamberlain's game against the New York Knicks, compared to the sellout crowd at Staples Center and television audience at home. And one day after Bryant scored 81 - including 55 in the second half - the lore of what he did only was growing.

``He never surprises me and he always surprises me,'' Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. ``I'm never surprised, but to sit there and watch something like that, you're just shocked at what's happening.''

Bryant went 28 of 46 from the field, 7 of 13 from the 3-point arc, and 18 of 20 from the foul line. He had 27 points in the third quarter and 28 in the fourth, the 55-point half second only to Chamberlain's 59 in NBA history as well.

The Raptors tried four different defenders on Bryant - Morris Peterson, Jalen Rose, Joey Graham and Jose Calderon - and called two timeouts in the third quarter in an attempt to cool him off.

``It wouldn't surprise me if he had more 50- or 60-point games this season,'' Memphis Grizzlies president Jerry West said. ``But I don't think he'll ever get to that level again. They didn't double him, they didn't take the ball out of his hands. It almost looked like they wanted him to do it.''

If nothing else, Bryant's game might have been the equivalent of Chamberlain's in the modern era. Bryant took 46 of the Lakers' 88 shots (52.2 percent) in Sunday's game, nearly identical to the 63 of 115 shots (54.7 percent) Chamberlain took.

Bryant even accounted for a greater percentage of the Lakers' scoring win his 81-point game than Chamberlain did for the Warriors on the night he had 100. The Lakers finished with 122 points against the Raptors, the Warriors totaled 169.

Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 season, when the league's lowest-scoring team averaged 111 a night. But Bryant's 81 points were more than NBA teams have scored 99 times this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Former Philadelphia forward Paul Arizin, a Hall of Famer and member of the NBA's retired players association, said the reality of what Chamberlain was doing wasn't apparent until late in the game.

``I hadn't the foggiest idea because that year he scored so many points so often it wasn't unusual,'' Arizin said. ``We just took it for granted. I didn't realize it until I was sitting in the fourth quarter and they started announcing how many points he had.''

Bryant's game might have been more meaningful than Chamberlain's, which took place at the end of the season against a last-place New York team. The Warriors fouled late to get back the ball while the Knicks fouled to get it out of Chamberlain's hands.

The Lakers, by contrast, were staring at a three-game losing streak before Bryant took over. Forward Lamar Odom had gone scoreless in the first half and the Lakers trailed by 18 points early in the third quarter.

Bryant also gave up the ball on what might have been the Lakers' biggest basket of the night. With Peterson and Rose double-teaming him, Bryant found Odom for an open 3-pointer that pushed the Lakers in front 100-93 in the fourth quarter.

``At one point I said, 'Are you going to be able to make it through the game?' '' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``Are you going to wear out or find the energy to finish?'' He said, 'I can find the energy.' He certainly did.''

Bryant pulled up and connected on four 3-pointers in the third quarter as well as converting a three-point play against Peterson. He also drew two three-shot fouls in the fourth quarter and drained all six of those free throws.

(For the record, Bryant got nine extra points thanks to the 3-point arc, which players from previous eras did not have.)

The numbers went from historic to legendary in the fourth quarter. Bryant made a jumper over Peterson along the wing to surpass Elgin Baylor's franchise record 71 with 4:35 left. Bryant went on to convert seven free throws in the last 2 1/2 minutes to reach the unthinkable 81.

Baylor released a statement Monday through the Clippers, saying: ``I congratulate Kobe Bryant on an outstanding performance. Scoring 81 points is a truly amazing accomplishment. Of course, the most important thing is that his effort contributed to a victory for his team.''

This season only is half over, but Bryant already has scored 81, 62,51 and 50 points in games this season. The question is how long Bryant, who is averaging 35.9 points per game, can keep up such ahead-spinning pace.

``I don't think that this is something we would expect to continue,'' Kupchak said. ``To rely on a player to be that productive, that's just not realistic. ... We've got to get our other players to continue to contribute.''

West, meanwhile, was asked about how far Bryant has come in only a season. It was West who brought the 17-year-old Bryant to the Lakers in 1996 and who found himself counseling the superstar guard to stay positive at the end of a disastrous 34-48 season.

``I sort of watched him grow up as a person,'' West said, ``all the trials and tribulations he's been through, people who have killed him personally, everything he's endured.

``I think this is a validation for who he is as a player. It's just incredible. It's a joy to watch, for the fans to go see him play.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kobe Bryant attempts a shot during Sunday's game. His 81 points is second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 for most points scored by a player in one game.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Roger Federer, far right and Lleyton Hewitt, left

Getty Images

(3 -- color) Torry Holt, at left

Box:

(1) FLASHBACK TO 81

(2) A GREAT - AND NOT-SO-GREAT - NUMBER