If Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant had been playing in the pre-3-point NBA era, he would have finished with 74 points Sunday night instead of 81.
And with all due respect to Bryant’s scoring feat, former Nuggets star David Thompson believes he would have scored much more than his team-record 73 points if the 3-point line existed in the NBA nearly 28 years ago.
“With the 3s, I could have easily been in the 80s,” Thompson said Monday. “I only took 38 shots. The way I was going, I probably could have been at 80 or 90 (points). I probably would have made seven or eight 3-pointers.
“If I took more shots, I would have made five from the field. But 81 points, that’s impressive. It takes a great player like that to put up those numbers.”
Before Bryant, the last time an NBA player scored at least 72 was Thompson’s feat on April 9, 1978, at Detroit. Thompson made 28-of-38 shots from the field and 17-of-20 free throws in the Nuggets’ 139-137 loss to the Pistons. Bryant made 28-of-46 shots, including 7-of-13 on 3-pointers, and was 18-of-20 from the free-throw line Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.
The 3-point line debuted in the NBA for the 1979-80 season. Wilt Chamberlain scored 72 points or more five times, including an NBA-record 100 for the Philadelphia Warriors on March 2, 1962.
“Getting over 70 points, 81, is quite an accomplishment,” Thompson said. “Kobe has been having a great year. Getting those numbers don’t come by often. It took 28 years before someone passed (72) again.”
Raptors forward Morris Peterson spent time guarding Bryant before getting in foul trouble. Toronto forward Jalen Rose tried and failed to stop Bryant, too. Both felt there was nothing any Raptor could do to stop the league’s current leading scorer.
“I got more calls about (Bryant’s) effort than anything I got calls about all year,” Rose said. “NBA colleagues. Family and friends. Some people that know me a little bit. Some people that don’t know nothing at all. Some people that love Kobe. Some people that hate Kobe.”
Said Peterson: “There is nothing you can really say about that. When a guy like him gets going, it’s hard to stop.”
The biggest scoring outburst against the Nuggets came from current Denver assistant coach Adrian Dantley, who had 55 points on Feb. 6, 1981, with the Utah Jazz. He also had 53 against Denver on April 10, 1982. Bryant’s scoring high against Denver is 51 on Feb. 12, 2003.
“The amazing thing watching the game (on television) was the guy didn’t seem like he was tired,” Dantley said. “He had great endurance. … They put the camera on him and he wasn’t huffing and puffing. He was in a zone.
“I’m glad I watched. I probably wouldn’t have watched it if we weren’t playing Toronto on (Monday). … I didn’t think I’d ever see anyone score close to 100 again.”
Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets’ leading scorer, was in awe and said he may call Bryant to congratulate him. When asked if he could see himself scoring 81, Anthony said: “I don’t think (Bryant) saw himself doing it. That’s crazy.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
