Many people did not expect the 2005-06 Los Angeles Lakers to make the playoffs. But as the schedule wound down, they got hot and made sure they would return to the postseason after a one-year absence.
The biggest reason for the hot streak was Kobe Bryant, who had a number of huge games in the final weeks of the regular season.
One of those games came against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 14.
With L.A. on the verge of clinching a playoff spot, Bryant went for 50 points on 17-of-28 shooting while adding five steals in a 110-99 win.
It was his sixth 50-point game of the season.
With Bryant averaging 38.8 points a game over the final 14 contests of the season, the Lakers would win 11 of them and head to the playoffs, where they came very close to upsetting a far superior Phoenix Suns squad.
