NBA: Kobe Bryant’s best games against every team

4. Kobe v. Trail Blazers, March 16, 2007

65 points (23-39 FG), 8-12 3pt shots, 7 rebounds

Of all of the matchups, this one has perhaps the most competition.

Kobe dropped 50 on them in 2006, a game where he shot 61% from the field. Three seasons ago, he dueled with a rookie Damian Lillard, putting up 47 to Dame’s 38. And it’s impossible to forget the Lakers’ Game Seven comeback in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, sealed by this Kobe-to-Shaq alley oop.

But even though there are many options, it’s impossible not to go with the second highest scoring output of Kobe’s career, a game in his legendary 2007 season that was just as inspired by his pitiful supporting cast as it was his own scoring ability.

Floating around at 34-32 and coming off of a seven game losing streak, Kobe and the Lakers needed a victory to stay afloat in the Western Conference. The Blazers gave the Lakers everything they had, shooting 52.6% from beyond the three-point line. Meanwhile, the rest of the Lakers didn’t provide Kobe with much help – for instance, Smush Parker finished 4-12 for 8 points – and so Kobe was forced to hoist up 39 attempts to push the game into overtime, including providing the Lakers with 24 of their 30 fourth quarter points.

The overtime period gave the Lakers the push they needed, cementing a legendary Kobe Bryant performance with a victory. It was his first of four straight games with at least 50 points.

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