The Los Angeles Lakers were starting to look scary as they began the 2008 NBA playoffs.
They defeated Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of their first-round series by 14 points, even though Kobe Bryant was just 9-of-26 from the field.
He bounced back in a big way in Game 2.
That night, he scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first quarter to help Los Angeles keep pace with the high-scoring Nuggets.
It led 59-49 at halftime and maintained a solid lead into the fourth quarter, when Denver started whittling that advantage.
That’s when Bryant went into Black Mamba mode, putting up 19 points in just over four minutes to put the game out of reach and give the Lakers a 122-107 victory.
Bryant finished with 49 points on red-hot 18-of-27 shooting and 5-of-9 from 3-point range, but he also had 10 assists.
It was another step toward him and the Lakers reaching their destiny: another NBA championship, which they claimed just over a year later.
