26. Points 68-70; 4:52 Remaining, 4th Quarter
Coming off of the screen from Kwame Brown on the right wing, there was absolutely no hedge from the Raptors on defense and Kobe was left all alone beyond the arc. Though Bryant hasn’t been Stephen Curry or anything for his career when it comes to shooting from the perimeter, he’s still Kobe and that shot with that amount of room is as easy as taking a breath for Bean.
25. Points 25-26; 0:18 Remaining, 2nd Quarter
Again, this is another score where the Raptors defense really doesn’t do a whole lot in terms of trying to impede Bryant for scoring, even though this was before he really started going off. Chris Bosh just sort of puts his arms up and lets Kobe sidestep him to get an open look at the rim. It’s a solid move from Bryant, but not one that’s going to wow anyone on it’s own.
24. Points 48-49; 2:31 Remaining, 3rd Quarter
Bryant makes another solid move off of the dribble to outmuscle his defender on the perimeter driving in off the left wing and an even better move to then create separation so that he can get a clean look at the shot once he gets to the rim. Even better, the finish with the reverse was nice. However, the lack of contest at the rim drops this down and makes me judge it a bit harshly maybe than I should.
Next: No. 23-21