In his first five seasons in the NBA, Kobe Bryant largely tried to respect the space of Shaquille O’Neal, trying to become a superstar and put up big games without preventing O’Neal from dominating.
When the big fella was suspended in January for attempting to throw a punch at the Chicago Bulls’ Brad Miller, it was up to Bryant to keep the Los Angeles Lakers afloat.
When they hosted the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 14, he did that and then some.
From the start, he was in attack mode, as he scored 18 points in the first quarter on 7-of-11 shooting. He duplicated that output in the second quarter, as Los Angeles went up 63-45 at halftime.
But Bryant didn’t stop, as he hit 7-of-12 in the third quarter and added 20 more points as the contest became a laugher.
Whatever Bryant did – attacking the hoop for dunks and layups, hitting outside or posting up – Memphis just couldn’t stop him or even slow him.
When the game ended, the Lakers had a 120-81 blowout win while Bryant had 56 points, a new career high, on 21-of-34 shooting to go along with four assists.
It was an early glimpse of him as a volume shooter and scorer, as well as a preview of the fury he unleashed on the NBA in a few years.
