NBA: Kobe Bryant’s best games against every team

19. Kobe v. Nuggets, February 12, 2003

51 points (15-28 FG), 18-20 FT

The Los Angeles Lakers of the early 2000s were a total juggernaut, with the Lakers posting a .735 winning percentage en route to dismantling the Pacers, 76ers and the Nets in the NBA Finals three consecutive seasons. 2002-03 was the first season where the cracks started to show; the team began 11-19 in large part because their defense had become less stout. They allowed 104.7 points per every 100 possessions, up from 101.7 the season before. That may seem insignificant, but that was the difference between being ranked 7th in ’01-’02 and 19th in ’02-’03.

Of course, the Lakers quickly returned to their winning ways. In fact, when we see them here they have gone 14-4 since the 11-19 start. Going up against a pre-Melo Nuggets team at 12-38 was a recipe for a quick victory.

Kobe Bryant only needed 31 minutes to post 51, doing so on 53.5% shooting while hitting 90% of his free throws. The Nuggets made the poor chose to have someone named Vincent Yarbrough play 37 minutes and guard Kobe, which enabled our hero to crack 50 points, and his seventh straight with at least 35. The Nuggets trailed 102-69 after three quarters, as the Lakers outshot the Nuggets 48.7%-37.2%.

The Lakers eventually lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals, but their late season surge saved what looked like a lost season.

Kobe has tormented the Denver Nuggets in the past, posting at least 40 on them on nine separate occasions. Another game worth mentioning for Kobe against the Nuggets would be in Game 3 of the 2009 Western Conference Finals. Bryant posted 41 points with the series tied 1-1, lifting the Lakers to a 103-97 victory and giving them the series edge they would never relinquish.

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