Watch: Kobe Bryant outscores the Dallas Mavericks 62-61 in three quarters by himself, 16 years ago to this day
NBA and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, on this day back in 2005, outscored the Dallas Mavericks 62-61 after three quarters of play. It was the 20th of December, 2005, when this incredible feat took place courtesy of Bryant.
16 YEARS AGO TODAY 🐍
KOBE BRYANT OUTSCORED THE MAVS 62-61 after 3 quarters!
Assistant coach Brian Shaw asked him if he wanted to play in the 4th to get 70. Kobe: "I'll do it when we really need it."
Kobe scored 81 in a comeback win a few weeks later https://t.co/t87eZeOdwr
The Dallas Mavericks came into the game with a 18-7 record while the Los Angeles Lakers had a 14-11 record. Kobe Bryant then proceeded to drop 62 points and collect eight rebounds while shooting the ball better than 58% from the field and at 40% from beyond the arc. Bryant also made 22 out of 25 attempted free throws.
At the end of the third quarter, then Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw asked Kobe if he wanted to play the fourth quarter and get 70 points. The crowd were also screaming "We want Kobe." Bryant replied:
“I’ll do it when we really need it.”
When asked what fueled such an incredible performance after the game, he said:
“I was very angry, I felt like I wanted to come out and send a message, that we’re going to dominate at home. We’re going to hit you, we’re going to bring it to you. I wanted to send that message.”
How good was Kobe Bryant's 2005-06 season?
The 2005-06 campaign was inarguably the greatest regular season of Kobe Bryant's illustrious career. The superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers was a man on a mission to take the LA-based team back to the promised land.
Kobe averaged 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists with 1.8 steals while shooting the ball at 45% from the field and over 34% from beyond the arc that season. He also averaged a whopping 27.2 field goal attempts per game as he had to carry a heavy workload for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant averaged 43 PPG in Jan. 2006, including his 81-point game (only Wilt had higher PPG in a month, 7 times) https://t.co/wKwTW3Ng9a
Kobe Bryant's best performance of the season came in a 122-104 demolition of the Toronto Raptors. He recorded a mammoth 81 points, shooting over 60% from the field while attempting 46 field goal attempts in that game. Kobe also converted seven of his 13 attempts from downtown and went to the line 20 times while making 18 free throws.
Throughout the regular season, Kobe had six games where he scored 50 or more points, and over 27 games where he scored 40 or more points. These are truly remarkable numbers recorded by what was the peak version of Kobe Bryant.
However, the season ended in disappointment as the Lakers were out of the NBA Playoffs in the first round, losing to the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series, the Lakers and Bryant failed to capitalize and close out the series in any of the next three games.
Bryant dropped 50 points in Game 6 but ended up on the losing side as the Suns beat the Lakers 126-118.
Also Read: Who is Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant?