The MVP race: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James
After the Lakers’ Bryant scored a Madison Square Garden-record 61 points Monday, Denver coach George Karl said, “What I thought about is: He’s like Michael (Jordan), trying to find that challenge to motivate his game, and I think getting the most points in the Garden was his desire. . . . How you stop this guy with one man is maybe an impossible task.”
While No. 24 might be mentally competing with No. 23, there’s another 23 he’s got on his mind — Cleveland’s James, who is Bryant’s key competition for MVP and Best Player on Planet Earth (the ol’ B-POPE). Two nights after Bryant lit up the Garden, James was in New York, tallying a statement performance of what appeared to be 52 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. However, the NBA determined on Friday that one of James’ rebounds belonged to teammate Ben Wallace, denying him the triple-double.
Wouldn’t you know, two nights after that, Bryant was in a different Garden — TD Banknorth Garden in Boston — hitting three clutch 3s in the fourth quarter. This propelled his team to overtime, where the Lakers won on the court they lost the decisive game of last summer’s NBA Finals.
If this tit-for-tat week is any indication of what’s in store, this should be a scintillating stretch run in the MVP race. Who knows, maybe the two will meet in the Finals this season. And sure enough, they meet today in Cleveland. Grocery shopping can wait.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
