Kobe Bryant feels a bit sheepish about his 81-point performance and says he is not caught up in a chase of Wilt Chamberlain's record of 100.

"I'm a little bit embarrassed, actually," Bryant told reporters Monday after the Los Angeles Lakers practiced for Tuesday's game against the New York Knicks.

"I think it's exciting for the game and the organization because of all the buzz, but personally it's a little embarrassing."

Bryant, who leads the NBA in scoring with a 35.9 average, said the bottom line for the Lakers (23-20) is winning.

"The concept is not about going out there and putting on a show or going out there and scoring points. It's to win games," he said. "Whatever it takes. You have to gauge the flow of the game and then decide when to pick your spot to take over.

"I'd much rather go out and score 25 points and get 10 assists and see everybody in a rhythm, everybody in a groove."

Bryant's 81 points Jan. 22 against the Toronto Raptors marked the second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history behind only Chamberlain's 100-point night in 1962 for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks.

Bryant said he was not pursuing the points record.

"I don't even think about it," he said of Chamberlain's record. "That's unthinkable. It was done once -- by Wilt, and I'm not Wilt."

Kobe Bryant practiced Tuesday for the first time since his astonishing performance against the Toronto Raptors, and was tagged with a new nickname.

"Just calling me 81," he said of his teammates.

Perhaps that should be Mr. 81.

Bryant said the reality of reaching that point total Sunday night in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-104 victory over the Raptors still hadn't sunk in, and made it clear he didn't expect a repeat performance any time soon.

"It's just one of those things that doesn't seem real to me," he said. "It's just tough for it to sink in. I'm focused on the task that lies ahead for us.

"The way I'm playing of late, I don't think it's an indication of how we're going to be playing the rest of the season. We had a stretch earlier this season where I didn't have to score the ball like that for us to win. I look forward to going back to that."

Laker guard Aaron McKie is still a couple of weeks from returning from a quadriceps tendon injury, Jackson said. McKie recently ran with other players during practice without being cleared by trainers, who promptly removed him from the court.

"We're looking at perhaps realistically some time in February," Jackson said.

Kobe Bryant tonight showed the world that he is the world's most dominant offensive player, scoring an amazing 81 points on the Toronto Raptors at the Staples Center.

Bryant, the league's leading scorer, scored an amazing 55 points in the second half alone as the Lakers routed the Raptors 122-104.

Kobe finished the game making 28 out of 46 shots (61%), was 7-13 (54%) from behind the arc and was 18-20 from the charity stripe (90%) in 41 minutes.

The performance was good enough to give Kobe the second highest individual scoring game in NBA history.

"I couldn't even dream of this when I was a kid," Bryant said. "There was no way possible."

Kobe Bryant plans to play for the U.S. team at this year's world basketball championships and the 2008 Olympics.  

Bryant gave an emphatic nod to joining the U.S. team in a meeting Friday with the head of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo.

"I had a previous conversation with him and we said we would meet again when he came to Phoenix," Colangelo said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He's really excited about it. He's really kind of juiced about representing the United States. He had some great things to say about the opportunity."

Bryant was in town for the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Arco Arena gleefully welcomed back one of its least favorite characters, Laker Coach Phil Jackson, and the home team carried it from there, beating the Lakers in overtime, 118-109, Thursday night.

King center Brad Miller hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc with 4.1 seconds left to send the game to overtime, and the Lakers couldn't stop forward Kenny Thomas, of all people, once they got there.

Thomas had six points and an assist in overtime on the way to 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, his first career triple-double. Mike Bibby was a game-long problem for the Lakers, scoring 40 points to go with six assists.

Kobe Bryant had 51 points, and Lamar Odom had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers before fouling out with 4:04 left in overtime.

Odom also had a hand in the Lakers' frittering away a five-point lead in the final 35 seconds of regulation, fumbling a chance to win for the seventh time in eight games.

With the Lakers ahead, 102-98, Odom drove the lane instead of killing time on the clock and was called for charging with 22 seconds left, and 14 on the shot clock. Thomas took the charge.

"I take the blame for that one," Odom said. "I should have run the clock down a little bit more. First time in a long time my aggressiveness beat me."

Laker officials were privately encouraged to see Andrew Bynum hold his ground defensively against Shaquille O'Neal.

Also encouraging was after a Bynum bucket, he elbowed O'Neal at the other end as the Heat center moved toward the lane to get position. O'Neal answered with a forceful elbow to Bynum's upper chest and both players were assessed technical fouls.

"For [Bynum] to come down and respond the way that he did, you also have got to know who his mentor is," Bryant said. "We all know Kareem was nasty, man. He's grooming Andrew Bynum and I think you see the aggressiveness in him."

Bynum said he hadn't expected to trade elbows with O'Neal.

"When he hit me, I was a little surprised," Bynum said. "It wasn't in my face or anything like that. He just hit me back in the chest. Nothing really I can do about that. He's kind of big."

Bynum irked O'Neal on draft day by saying he was a lot like O'Neal except that he actually made free throws. Only 17 at the time, Bynum didn't know that O'Neal never likes to hear about missed free throws or added pounds.

Shaquille O'Neal got the word from Hall of Famer Bill Russell to make peace with Kobe Bryant, just as Russell once did with Wilt Chamberlain.

O'Neal followed Russell's advice.

Bryant then went out and scored 12 of his 37 points in the last 8? minutes to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 100-92 victory over O'Neal and the Miami Heat on Monday night.

Bryant said O'Neal first approached him while he was stretching before the game and congratulated him on the birth of his daughter and the impending birth of a second child.

"It made me feel good," Bryant said, adding he was surprised at O'Neal's gesture. "We've been through so many wars together. Now, just be able to move on, try to do the best for this team, wish him the best in South Beach.

"I think it's good for the city of Los Angeles, good for the NBA, good for the youth, being Martin Luther King Day."

After the initial contact, they shook hands, embraced briefly and exchanged a few words at center court when the team captains and game officials met before the game. They exchanged another hug before the opening tipoff as the fans at the Staples Center voiced their approval.

"I had orders from the great Bill Russell," O'Neal said. "Me and him were talking in Seattle the other day, and he was telling me how rivalries should be. I asked him if he ever disliked anybody he played against, and he told me, 'No, never,' and he told that I should shake Kobe Bryant's hand and let bygones be bygones and bury the hatchet.

"Today is a day of peace. Dr. Martin Luther King was an ambassador of peace. So when I talked to Mr. Russell, he told me he said that him and Chamberlain spoke once or twice a week before he passed away. And even though people thought they hated each other, there was nothing but love there."

Ronny Turiaf has agreed in principle to sign with the Lakers and will join the team by Monday, his agent said.

Turiaf, who had open-heart surgery less than six months ago, averaged 13 points and 6.3 rebounds in nine games with the CBA's Yakama (Wash.) Sun Kings.

"He's packing his bags and getting ready to fly down on Monday," said Turiaf's agent, Bouna Ndiaye, who said he finalized contract details with Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak on Thursday.

"We talked about terms and conditions of the contract and now [team owner] Dr. Jerry Buss has to approve everything. We're probably going to sign this weekend, or Monday at the latest. That's what we're expecting. I don't see any problems."

The Kobe-LeBron matchup didn't quite go as hyped, with neither at the top of his game.

But Kobe Bryant put on a show in the final 90 seconds despite a sore right wrist.

Bryant scored his team's last six points on three long jumpers including the go-ahead shot with 8.6 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-98 Thursday night.

"His last three shots were just amazing," an admiring James said afterward. "The guy was shooting shots like he was the only person in this arena. He has been through this before -- he has [championship] rings."