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Kobe Bryant scored 81 points Sunday night as the Lakers, playing in Los Angeles, beat the Toronto Raptors 122-104. Kobe's 81 points is the second highest points in a single NBA game in the history of the league, only behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100.

The 81 points by Kobe Bryant came on 28-46 shooting in just under 42 minutes of play, including 7-of-13 three-pointers. He shot 18-of-20 free throws, and also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 block in just under 42 minutes of play.

InsideHoops.com's editor notes that, by coincidence (!), it was Kobe's 666th career regular season game.

InsideHoops.com, the web's most popular basketball site, invited fans to react to the game around 1:30 a.m. By 6 a.m. we had far over 800 responses (we stopped counting after that). Here's the basketball fan world's immediate overnight reaction to Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points:

Greg Garrison in Riverside, California: I was 9 years old when I saw my first NBA game,it was also the first NBA game played in for a guy named "Magic" Johnson. In the 25 years since I have watched the careers of "Magic" and "Big Game" James Worthy, seen Kareem Abdul-Jabbar become the all-time scoring champ, watched Pat Riley go from the broadcast booth to a slicked-back head coach, lost my voice during 8 title runs and seen Shaquille O'neal come and go. But never have I seen a one man wrecking crew the likes of Kobe Bean Bryant. To anyone who says the Lakers don't have two legitimate scoring threats I say wrong,they just both happen to be the same guy, Kobe Bryant. You can put this one in the refrigerator, the eggs are cooling, the butters getting hard, and the Jell-o is jiggling. Hey Kobe how about closing the door and turning the lights out when you finish scoring!

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Wilson in Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant the greatest scorer in the history of the game? He certainly deserves some honorable mention after posting 81 points in 46 minutes of play. The amazing part is, no one seen it coming because he onlyed had 26 points at halftime. Then went for an unreal 55 points in the second half. Warning: if the Lakers can stay healthy, and get a consistent 2nd scorer, do not, I repeat do not be surprised if the Lakers are playing in June!

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P Ang from Manila: 81? Big deal. Saw this kid last month score 62 by the 3rd Quarter. Even outscored an entire NBA team.

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Justin in Toronto, Canada: I realized half-way through the fourth quarter that I was witnessing the greatest NBA performance of our era. The only thing terrible about it is that they beat my second favourite team - the Raptors.

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Peter Beck in Munich: Ridiculous. Crazy ridiculous. I don't like the guy, but damn, do I respect him. For the league it's pretty great that he's not sitting in jail right now, we really would have missed out on something.

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Rich in Los Angeles: Once, just once I hope the media and Kobe-haters alike can sit back, shut up, and applaud Kobe for his brilliant effort on Sunday night rather than look for ways to put an asterisk by it. Thanks for the memories Kobe.

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Xavi in Barcelona, Spain: I was studing for a exam and watching the final minutes of the AFC championship game. At 3:40 I change the channel with the idea of watch a few minutes of Jose Calderon and then go to sleep because I have a exam at 9:00. Calderon didn't play too many minutes in the first half so I decided to stay and...

I took the right decision despites I arrived late at the exam.

Now I can say that I watched live the most increible performance of a NBA player ever.For me 81 points for a guard in 2006 is more dificult than 100 points made by Chamberlain. When Kobe was replaced I get up the sofa and should MVP,MVP like if I was in the Staples Center, I understand that I've seen and historic event and I was as excited as when Larry Johnson hits the 4points play againts the Pacers (I'm a Knicks fan). Right now there are two things I want to do before dead, watch a game in the Madison Square Garden and watch a game of Kobe Bryant. From today I start to save money to make a travel to US the soon is possible.

The last thing I want to say is THANK YOU Kobe for being the best player in the NBA.or me 81 points for a shoting guard in 2006 is more dificult than 100 points made by Chamberlain. When Kobe was replaced I get up the sofa and should MVP,MVP like if I was in the Staples Center, I understand that I've seen and historic event and I was as excited as when Larry Johnson hits the 4points play againts the Pacers (I'm a Knicks fan). Right now there are two things I want to do before dead, watch a game in the Madison Square Garden and watch a game of Kobe Bryant. The last thing I want to say is THANK YOU Kobe for being the best player in the NBA.

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Sheba in Holland: An MVP is a player who makes his team(mates) better. Kobe makes Kobe better. By doing so, he is by far the best.

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Nick in Oregon: I did not see the game but I am completely and utterly confused as to how Kobe can score 81 points in our day in age. He has a team of at least 4 or 5 other competent guys on his team. I see this game not as Kobe proving he is on of the best players to ever play the game but more or less he is one of the most selfish players that has ever played the game. I am sorry to offend anyone. It is just When wilt played, not only was he 7 feet tall and dominant over most of the players in his time, however, there was no back court rule and he could stand down at the other end and cherry-pick. That is why no one has even got close to Wilt's record. Due to the simple fact that it is selfish and unfair, period. Any player in todays day in age, with basketball as evolved as it is, is extremely self involved if he even makes an attempt at this! I am not saying that it wasnt amazing and fun to watch, it was. But it does bring up the topic, "whome is the most narcissistic and self-consumed individual to ever play the game?"

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Laker4Lyfe in Los Angeles, California: Though I may be biased coming from LA and all. I think that Kobe's perfomance ranks among one of the greatest in all Lakers franchise history.

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Eric in Toronto: Kobe absolutely destroyed my Raptors. Everything he threw up went in. Tough fade-aways to threes with hands in his face. The Raptors threw everything they could at Kobe. What an offensive explosion. What a memorable night. I got chills watching Kobe at work from home, I wonder how it must have felt watching the game live.

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Galic in Ontario: As a Raptors fan, they surprise me how they keep finding new ways to embarass themselves and basketball in this country.

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Mark in Queensland: It was the greatest I've ever seen, his teammates did nothing good on the floor with and without him, so he did the right thing and saved them from being shamed by the Raptors. That just proves to more people that he should be the MVP. Well if they don't agree, just look at Kobe's team. Smush Parker? Chris Mihm? Kwame Brown? Ad yeah Lamar Odom, but he's too inconsistent. Nobody could choose and put ONE player in the lineup in exchange of Kobe and still make the playoffs.

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L. Knight in Inglewood, California: Outside of phoenix, I don't think there's a team in the west that can contain Kobe in a 7 game series. If the lakers can find a way to pull off Ron Artest. I belive they will go to the finals. Without him...the lack of offense will hurt them in the playoffs because Lamar Odom can't be counted on for 20 a night. Artest can. Plus he can lock up the other teams best scorer. It doesn't get any better then that. Artest or burst!! Kobe rules the world!

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Ali in Los Angeles: I was at the game and words cannot explain.... going into the third quarter a lot of the crowd was silent, not to mention disturbed, I mean the lakers were losing bad to the raptors.. THEN.. the third quarter unfolds... shot after shot, I mean it was just unbelievable. How he gets into a rhythm and just keeps going is beyond me. Going into the fourth the crowd was electric. I think a lot of people there had a feeling they were about to witness history, I know thats how I felt. My friend kept saying "hes gonna hit 80" and I kept telling him shut up.. I guess I was wrong. Overall it was just amazing to be able to witness and be a part of history. Amazing!

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MC in Detroit, Michigan: Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA. We as fans are witnessing the second comming of MJ. For those of us that did'nt see wilt score 100 points we were treated to a historical moment compliments of KB. This was for everyone who thought/thinks he can't win without Shaq. For everyone who said he was selfish and not a team player he will make your words. If the lakers go out and get him some consistant players, Kobe will dominate the NBA for the next 4-8 years and return to the finals and WIN without Snack I mean Shaq. P.S keep watching KB do his thing next month we may be discussing 101pts

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Pierre Tristan in Dubai: Take a breath and think of all the amazing 50 point games you witnessed recently... Now, just to think that Kobe scored 55 in the second half! It's still hard to put into perspective.

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Darryl Kanouse in Sherman Oaks, California: It's like an optical illusion. I see it in the headlines but it just doesn't compute at face value and becomes something else... like a team total, or a combined total over 3 games total, or... what is that number doing here? I'm aware of the history of the game and decades have passed since I first became a fan. Count me among the believers: Kobe Bryant is in a class by himself. He lives in a different dimension.

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Jon Otsuki in Davis, California: When Kobe is on, there's really nothing like it in the NBA or professional sports as a whole. Basketball may not be an individual sport but it is a sport in which the individual is praised. Yes, he is a ball hog. I suppose it can be considered a fault when you look at their record when he scores more than __ points in a game or how it distracts from the chemistry needed to become a better team (although a complete roster is usually a good first step...). And many were quick to point out the number that rested below AST when he went for 62 (0). Tonight wasn't much better (2), although the scoring was a little more distributed. But in both those games the Lakers came out with wins. And even the skeptics can't say much to that.

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Dr. Nick in Sydney, Australia: Did anyone else notice that this was Kobe's 666th regular season game? Maybe the asked the Devil for help today, lol.

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Jonathan Tam in Toronto, Canada: I am a Raptor fan and I am so embarassed for my team right now it's unbelievable. I can't believe how soft the Raps are. There is no way that Kobe should've been able to score 81 points in a game. I'm not really sure who's more to blame, the coaching or the players.

I'm disappointed in a bunch of bad coaching decisions made by Mitchell in this game. Not using timeouts properly, playing 3 rookies in the midst of a Laker comeback, letting Matt Bonner chuck 3's are just a few examples.

I'm disappinted in the players as they seemed to just give up and let Kobe have their way with them. Where's your godamn pride?!? You are now in history as the team that let Kobe score 81pts on them. For shame. There was no veteran stepping up and knocking Kobe down when he went into the lane. No veteran presence in the huddles rallying the team together to stop him. This is a young team that doesn't have a nasty streak to stop players from going off on them. No sense of pride.

I guarantee this would not have happened on a team coached by Gregg Popovich, or Jerry Sloan or any competent coach. You think Kobe would score 81pts on Detriot? Indiana? Miami? Not a chance. These teams would have never let anybody light them up like that.

There's a reason Kobe scored 81 pts and had 2ast. I don't know what the Raptors or their coaching staff were thinking. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

I end with this: if Oakley was still on the team, this would have never happened.

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David Kelley in Woodland Hills, California: Before going to the Lakers game last night I was thinking about the opportunity to make history that Kobe blew when he sat out the 4th quarter with 62 points and how rare the chance is to make history is. I decided to write a letter to Kobe to say that if he ever has a shot at history...take it! The game started off bad for the Lakers and at the half I told my friend that even with 26 points Kobe would have to gun a lot of shots to pull this one out. We laughed all the way home all we could say was 81? 81? 81? It's just not possible, What just happened?

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Ghassan in Lebanon: Well what can i say u. I mean 81 points! Thats a lot, and I know of Kobe played that 4th Q against Dallas he would have scored more than 81 for sure. But actually im not a big fan of Kobe,sooner or later he needs to learn how to play team ball, though he does got great talents, but you need to play team ball if you dont you wont be able to win anymore rings. But good lookin kobe.... 81 DAMN!!!!

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Gökhan in Turkey: He is not a human being...

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Sebastian Wand in Berlin, Germany: Man that is something I never thought is possible in todays NBA Basketball!! One player to come at least close to Wilt's 100 Points!! I don`t like Kobe, but that is one thing to be talked about in 50 years!!! Keep on ballin' Kobe, maybe you get the 100 sometime!!

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Nestor Tidoy in FPSO Jamestown, Obe Field, Nigeria: Kobe's scoring spree is typical NBA, whose players thrive on one on one plays. But, it also showed that Kobe's talent is unlimited, especially that his team really needs his scoring.

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Dennis Melzer in China: Me being a Kobe fan, must say first of all, he is the most amazing scoring player in the game today. 62 points in Dallas was crazy, and on top of that an 81 point game puts him at the top along with Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. He shot great percentage everywhere, and this is the best accomplishment we Laker fans have experienced this year.

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Hongshen in Singapore: Thank you Kobe for allowing us to witness such an historical NBA moment. An amazing accomplsihment that will stay vivid in the minds of fans in this era. We shall be behind you as you soar to even greater skies, may the best be yet to be!

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Reginald S. Roberson in Atlanta, Georgia: What I witnessed last night was surreal. Watching Kobe score 81 points was scary. I have never felt like that watching an NBA game before and I have been a fan for over 25 years. It was scary because my mind did not want to register what was really going on. This was not NBA LIVE 2006 or a JV basketball. This was the NBA. Hats off to Kobe, the 81 points in a meaningful come from behind win, was one of the most unreal and truly great NBA moments I have EVER seen. There are a few things that happen in sports on rare nights that become the stuff that legends are made of, that you remember where u were and how u felt and last night was one to tell the grandkids about 25 years from now. Out!

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George F in Glendale, California: I'll be honest: it felt like just another 35 or 40-point Kobe game. What happened here is he was going against probably the weakest defensive team in the NBA, and once he got hot he just kept scoring. The difference between this and the previous 62 and 56-point 3-quarter quarter games is the Lakers were actually behind when Mr. Bean cought on fire, so Phil HAD to let him stay in throughout the contest to carry the Lakers to the win. (By the way, I think he could have gotten more than 81 during the Dallas game had he played in the 4th quarter there.)

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Aaron Fuentes in San Antonio, Texas: I saw kobe go for 81 points.The announcers on NBA Fastbreak siad that the game was competitive all of the way through. The lakers were up about 15 points with 2 minutes left, during that time Kobe kept jacking up three pointers. He is selfish and a ball hog. I guess I am just a Kobe and laker hater.

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Jose Marcano in Mesa, Arizona: Greatest performance I've ever seen, but the thing about it was that he made it look so easy. And also needed those points to make them win the game. Thank you league pass.

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Milko in Germany: I always used to hate kobe.... but that is so memoriable and maybe mindchanging... why he? But hey! I have a lot of rookie-cards of him! $$$

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Drew Wilson in Normal, Illinois: 81 points would be a great accomplishment if he didn't shoot everytime. If you let my mom throw up 46 shots in a game her stats are gonna look good. The most talented but selfish player in the league. No guard should ever score that many points in a game because only an inside player can dominate while taking high percentage shots. Kobe demonstrates talent as well as how not to play the game to the youngsters out there.

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Gilles in Paris, France: Be sure that the Lakers will do everything now to trade for Artest, even sending Odom to the Pacers... the only thing they need is a defensive worker like Artest. Jackson is building around Kobe like the old days...

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WE'LL POST MORE OF YOUR RESPONSES TONIGHT.

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