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Bryant seeks fourth straight game with at least 50 points

Mar 23, 2007 - 3:02 PM LA Lakers (36-32) at New Orleans (31-37) 8:00 pm EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant is in a groove that the NBA hasn't seen in a long time.

Bryant looks to record his fourth straight game with at least 50 points Friday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the New Orleans Hornets.

The league's scoring champion last season, Bryant poured in 60 points - his second 60-point effort in three games - on Thursday as the Lakers picked up their third win in a row with a 121-119 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies.

A nine-time All-Star, Bryant became the first Laker to register three straight contests with at least 50 points since Elgin Baylor did so during the 1962-63 campaign. Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan were the only other players in NBA history to also record the feat.

"It's special. Growing up, I idolized all of them, from Wilt to MJ to Elgin and everybody else," Bryant said. "It's a tremendous honor for me to be in that same class with those guys in terms of being in the history books."

If Bryant reaches the 50-point plateau on Friday, he will have the most all-time in franchise history. He moved into a tie with Baylor at 17 following Thursday's performance.

The Hornets have won three of their last four games to pull within one game of the Los Angeles Clippers (32-36) for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

David West scored 26 points and Chris Paul contributed 23 and nine assists in the Hornets' 114-103 victory at Memphis on Tuesday.

The Hornets have won both meetings against the Lakers this season, including a 113-103 triumph here on January 20.