Kobe Bryant got the Lakers started with 19 points in the first quarter, and Shannon Brown and the bench picked up where he left off in the second quarter, as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 62-48 lead over the New York Knicks at halftime at Madison Square Garden. Kobe added four more points in the second quarter, giving him 23 for the half, and 43 points in his last four quarters, dating back to Thursday.
Bryant already holds the Madison Square Garden scoring record, with a 61-point performance on February 2, 2009. He made seven of nine field goals for 19 points in the opening period, including a buzzer- beater to give the Lakers a 30-28 lead. Bryant also had eight rebounds in the first half. The Lakers outscored the Knicks 32-20 in the second quarter.
Shannon Brown added eight points off the bench for the Lakers, including two spectacular dunks. One, on an errant alley-oop pass from Steve Blake, was corralled with one hand and somehow finished with two hands by Brown. Raymond Felton led the Knicks with 16 points, including three makes from three-point range. The Knicks had 12 turnovers in the first half.
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