May 19, 2001 – Kobe beats Pop for the First Time
When the Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 Western Conference Semifinals, they lost four straight while the Spurs went on to win the championship. Kobe Bryant was a budding star at the time, but that was not enough to overcome the top defensive team in the league.
Bryant’s best game came in Game 2 where he put up 28 points and eight rebounds on 48 percent shooting. Two years and two days later, Kobe had his best playoff game against the Spurs ever. After sweeping the Kings in the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals, the Lakers took on the Spurs in the Conference Finals.
In the first game of the series, Kobe made a statement. Not only were the Lakers unstoppable, but so was Bryant. Against the top defensive team in the league (again), he scored 45 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had three assists. Additionally, Kobe shot 54.3 percent from the field – four percent better than the league leader in field goal percentage and teammate, Shaquille O’Neal.
The Lakers went on to win the game and the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs and Gregg Popovich. They followed that series up by winning the NBA Finals. Shaq won Finals MVP yet again, but Kobe made sure to be known as an equally lethal threat.