FanHouse MadisonSquareGarden

NEW YORK -- What a breeze, overtime.

"We're getting used to it, yeah," Jonny Flynn, Syracuse's precocious sophomore guard was saying as he bounced off the Madison Square Garden parquet early Saturday morning, destined for another late-night dinner of fast food and an evening date in the Big East championship. His legs were rubber, his energy indefatigable, his smile glowing like a neon light. They don't know for sure, but Flynn's teammates swear he grins in his sleep. And really, who can
blame him?

As you likely know, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant both put on shows at Madison Square Garden this week. 61 Points on a 76% true shooting clip (better than his efficiency during the 81 Point game) or a 50 point triple double. Debate all you want about who had a better performance. I personally think comparing the two performances is pointless. The real question I want to answer is did LeBron intentionally try to top Kobe Bryant's performance at the Garden.

I mean, LeBron is supposed to be the apple of the Big Apple's eye (2010, baby!), not Kobe Bryant. So it would make sense for LeBron to go out and try to top Kobe's performance, right?

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

League MVP, NBA Championships, Olympic Gold, 81 points in a game...you name it, and Kobe Bryant has pretty much done it. Well, almost everything.

Despite having some pretty big games against the Knicks, Kobe has yet to score 50 points in a game at Madison Square Garden. There's something that just feels very wrong about that statement.

Michael Jordan made it fashionable to have great performances at the Garden. Jordan had numerous spectacular games and plays at MSG, but set the bar at another level when he became the first Knicks opponent to reach the 50 point plateau at the Garden on opening night of the 1986-87 season. Jordan later broke his own record when he dropped a double nickle "wearing the four five" during his comeback in 1995.