Why Kobe's 62-point game was more impressive than his 81-point game

On the other hand, about a month earlier, he scored 62 points against the Dallas Mavericks, a team that was very solid defensively and ended up reaching the NBA Finals. In fact, some still believe that they should have won it all and would have if it weren't for a few questionable decisions late in the game in that series.

Bryant scored those 62 points in three quarters and, as some will recall, he single-handedly outscored the entire Dallas team by one point in those three quarters. It's a very Wilt Chamberlain-esque performance and was an example of how deadly and concentrated the Black Mamba's venom can be.

At halftime, Bryant had 32 points, meaning he had scored 30 points in the third quarter alone, more points than in any other quarter of his 81-point game.

Had he played most or all of the fourth quarter that December night, he could have scored over 81 points if he wanted to. As it turned out, the Lakers were up 95-61 after three quarters. Brian Shaw, an assistant coach and former teammate of Bryant's, asked the superstar early in the fourth quarter if he wanted to re-enter the game to try and increase his score. Because the score was so lopsided, Bryant declined. When Shaw told him this was a one-time performance and he would never get another chance to score 70 or 80 points, Bryant said he would try another night.