Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant’s best game against every team in NBA

Kobe Bryant’s best game against the Miami Heat – Christmas, 2004

This was a classic Christmas day showdown against bitter rivals Kobe and Shaq, who had been traded away, and was facing the team for the first time since the trade. Kobe had a game-high 42 points, and almost willed the Lakers to a win over one of the best teams in the league that season.

Kobe ended up having a much better game than Shaq by almost doubling his scoring output with 42 to Shaq’s 24 points. He also got his teammates involved with six assists, but he did not get the most important stat and that was the victory against his traitor teammate.

This was the peak of the Kobe versus Shaq feud and even though Miami came out on top it felt good to see the Lakers being able to compete with a team lead by Shaq. Kobe and Shaq went on to settle their differences, Shaq won a title with the Heat, and Kobe won two more with the Lakers.

Considering this was Kobe’s highest scoring total ever against the Heat, and it was the first time he ever faced off against Shaq. It was easy to call this game his best against them, even if it came in a very close loss.