Kobe Bryant scores 60 points in final NBA game

Kobe Bryant went out with a Hollywood ending to his remarkable career.

Bryant scored 60 points in his final game Wednesday night, wrapping up 20 years in the NBA with an unbelievable offensive showcase in the Los Angeles Lakers' 101-96 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz.

He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009 and rallying the Lakers from a 15-point deficit to win the final game of the worst season in franchise history.

"It's hard to believe it happened this way," Bryant said. "I'm still shocked about it."

The perfect ending would have been a championship. But tonight was [me] trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could.- Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on his final NBA game

With the entire Staples Center crowd standing, Bryant drained a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. He hit another with 31 seconds to play, putting the Lakers ahead 97-96. He finished with an assist before checking out for good with 4.1 seconds left in just the Lakers' 17th win.

"The perfect ending would have been a championship," Bryant said with a smile. "But tonight was [me] trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time."

Bryant and his teammates conspired for one last omnivorous scoring performance by the third-leading scorer in NBA history.

Bryant played 42 minutes and took a career-high 50 shots, his teammates attempting to set him up for points on nearly every possession. He also had four assists and four rebounds in his highest-scoring performance since getting 61 against New York in 2009.

Kobe came up with the fifth highest-scoring game of his career. He became the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game.

One last classic

It was one last classic from the Black Mamba.

"It just didn't surprise me, the way he would go out," said Lakers coach Byron Scott, Bryant's teammate in his rookie season. "Sixty points wasn't a surprise. I knew he had it in him."

The entire night was a tribute to Bryant, who is retiring after 20 seasons, five championship rings and 18 all-star selections with the Lakers, who honoured him before and after the game. Bryant is just the fifth player in NBA history to play 20 seasons, and the first with just one team.

Bryant had a few laughs after finishing his 1,346th regular-season game with 33,643 career points.

"The thing that had me cracking up all night long is, I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the ball," Bryant said with a grin. "And then the last night, they're like, 'Don't pass it!"'

Bryant surpassed his previous career high of 47 shots, taken in a loss to Boston on Nov. 7, 2002.

It was day-long tribute with thousands of fans thronging the downtown streets around Staples Center and chanting his name from early afternoon. Fans lucky enough to get inside Staples Center greeted him with ovations at every opportunity. Magic Johnson anchored a brief pre-game tribute by calling Bryant "the biggest and greatest celebrity we've had in this town for 20 years" and "the greatest to wear the purple and gold."

Bryant finished the first quarter with 15 points on 13 shots. He kept it up after sitting out the first six minutes of the second, finishing with 22 points despite missing a last-minute shot, his 20th of the first half.

The Lakers snapped a six-game skid in their final outing, but their demanding fans could forget about the awful season for one night.