Vs. Sacramento Kings – Game 4, 2001 Western Conference Semis
There’s a long, storied history between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings and one that is undoubtedly filled with a lot of ill will between the two fan-bases. Much of that stems from their playoff meeting in the early 2000s and the officiating in those games. What doesn’t help the fact, though, is that Kobe also happened to just obliterate the Kings in a couple of those games in those series, one of which happened to be in Game 4 of the 2001 Western Conference semifinals.
Kobe absolutely took it to the Kings in this game with one of the most dominant double-double outings of his entire career. Kobe played all 48 minutes and didn’t take his foot off of the gas for one second that he was on the floor. He finished the night with 48 points, 16 rebounds (nine on the offensive end), three assists, two steals, and one block. Moreover, he put up his numbers with a more than respectable 15-29 shooting performance.
Though he had better scoring nights and almost triple doubles throughout his career against Sactown, Kobe’s performance on this night in the playoffs, it was just an enormous and necessary performance to bury a Western rival on the way to a title.
Next: Vs. Spurs