Kobe Bryant struggled early on. Not only did he look flat on his shots, both teams were awful executing on the offensive end. Five turnovers were shared between the Lakers and the Timberwolves within the first two minutes of the game.
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You’d think there’d be more reason to be excited. After all, tonight, Kobe Bryant was out to break Michael Jordan’s career scoring record, which would place him #3 all time behind Karl Malone.
The Timberwolves had a strategy early on. Both Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad went straight to the post against Kobe Bryant. During the first half, they were successful. It broke Kobe’s rhythm a bit.
Early on, Bryant was absolutely cold from the field. He started off on 1-of-5 shooting from the field on a tough basket in the painted area over Gorgui Dieng. After a quickly made three-pointer and a couple of free throws, Bryant had a shot at passing Jordan’s record on a baseline fadeaway jumper.
Unfortunately, that shot rimmed out.
On the next possession, he attacked the Minnesota Timberwolves team by driving baseline, drawing two free throws. One would tie it. Two would pass it.
Swish. Swish.
With 5:24, he passed Michael Jordan in the same way he entered the scoring books, at the free throw line.
The game was stopped.
Kobe’s teammates came out to greet him. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor came out to give him the game ball. Other players came out to congratulate him, but nothing looked more heartfelt, than the embrace he had with Coach Byron Scott. Like a father, he mentored Bryant as a rookie. Now, 32,293 points later, he is a witness on the floor.
But, the Lakers had a game to win. Bryant quickly expanded on his scoring with another made three-point basket.
However, his signature was in the fourth quarter. He started his fourth quarter spree with a made three-pointer. He hit a mid-range shot over Gorgui Dieng. A high pick-and-roll situation led to another 10′ floater. The Lakers found themselves tied at 94, before Kobe pulled the trigger on a 26′ three-point shot.
That was the dagger shot.
The Lakers never looked back. Kobe may have shot 7 of 20 from the field, but when the Lakers needed him most, he came out with the win.
Congratulations Kobe Bryant.