By MARC BERMAN

My first observation from this historic 61-point night was the noise at the Garden. From the tip, the cheers were louder for Kobe Bryant’s baskets than the Knicks’ scores.

The first two times Bryant stepped to the free throw line, the chants resounded: “MVP.” It seemed every transplanted Southern Californian was in the building watching Kobe’s 34-point first half. The “MVP” chants lasted across much of the night, till his exit in the final minutes when he got a standing ovation after his 20-for-20 perfecto at the free-throw line.

The love was never that way for Michael Jordan. His Airness was the enemy. The Bulls were the archrivals during the glory days. Sadly, the Knicks have been irrelevant for so many years, there is no legit rivalry with the purple and gold any longer, despite the Knicks’ month-long surge. A night like this slaps you into realizing how far the Knicks are from having a marquee star.

“It was like a road game,” Mike D’Antoni admitted.

But here’s another revelation. Michael still is the more accomplished player, but Kobe is as exciting to watch and has become as beloved nationwide because of the internet age.

Jordan’s “double-nickel” Garden performance when he dropped 55 on the Knicks was a better all-around performance because all the points came during the natural course of a razor-tight game down the stretch. In fact, Jordan had the game-winning assist that night in 1995. Bryant set both Garden records during garbage time.

To a man, the Knicks appeared stunned after the game, perhaps by the fan support the Lakers got.

I’ve never seen this sort of adulation given an opposing player at the Garden. That, in the end, struck me the most. Not the long-range bombs, the twisting runners, the fastbreak dunks, the 61 points.

Maybe it will change in 2010 if and when LeBron James arrives. And King James has some act to follow Wednesday night. Dream Week may fast turning into Nightmare Week for the Knicks.