Fansided

NBA: Kobe Bryant’s best games against every team

By Luke Dahlgren

A WNBA basketball sits on the floor - Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
A WNBA basketball sits on the floor - Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 30
Next
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JUNE 9: Kobe Bryant
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – JUNE 9: Kobe Bryant /

21. Kobe v. Nets, June 9, 2002 (NBA Finals)

36 points (14-23 FG), 6 rebounds

A mention should be made for Kobe’s 46-point outburst on November 27, 2005, when the Lakers lost to the Nets in overtime 102-96. But that game is not listed for a few reasons:

a) The Lakers lost.
b) The game was relatively insignificant. It happened within the first month and a half of the season against an Eastern Conference opponent, a season where the Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs.
c) Kobe finished the game shooting 38.9% from the field, and contributed only 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Kobe was far more efficient on a far bigger stage. In Game 3 of the 2002 Finals, he poured in 36 points on 60.8% shooting. Along with Shaquille O’Neal, the pair was responsible for 71 of the Lakers 106 points in the game, all of them key in a three-point victory.

After the Nets closed a ten-point gap in the third, tying the game heading into the fourth quarter, Kobe sealed the game in the final minute after Jason Kidd and Kerry Kittles tried to trap him.

The Lakers were able to complete the sweep the next game, giving the Kobe-Shaq Lakers a championship three-peat.

Next: #20

Home/Los Angeles Lakers