3. Game 4 of the 2001 Western Conference Semifinals
Other than the Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest rivals in the early 2000s were the Sacramento Kings.
Die-hard fans of the Purple and Gold may not want to admit it, but those Kings were a worthy foe. They were led by Chris Webber, an MVP-caliber player in his own right, and were filled to the brim with high-quality complementary players.
Those Kings also helped change the way basketball was played, as they were the first team in the modern era to play a true uptempo game and shoot 3-pointers whenever they had at least a decent look at one.
Still, the Lakers had their way with them in the 2001 playoffs, as they moved out to a 3-0 lead over Sacramento.
The hardest game to win in a best-of-seven is the closeout game, and it showed as the Lakers fell behind in Game 4.
But Bryant put his foot on the accelerator and erupted for 48 points and 16 rebounds. After Shaquille O’Neal fouled out in the fourth quarter, Bryant continued his onslaught to dethrone the Kings, 119-113.
After sweeping the first two rounds of the 2001 NBA Playoffs, people started to wonder if anyone could beat the Lakers in a best-of-seven.