After the 2010-11 NBA All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had appeared inconsistent and complacent to that point of the season, got hot.
They won 17 of their next 18 games and looked to be rounding into shape for the playoffs – until they went on a mysterious five-game losing streak towards the end of the schedule.
For their last regular season game, the Purple and Gold traveled north to take on the Sacramento Kings needing a win to secure the second seed in the Western Conference.
The days of the Kings being the Lakers’ biggest rivals were long gone by now, but Kobe Bryant didn’t care.
Sensing his opportunity for a sixth NBA championship, he had 36 points on 13-of-24 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists, and his late-game heroics gave L.A. a 116-108 win in overtime.
It wasn’t meant to be for the Lakers that year, as they got stunningly swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. But that game versus Sacramento was a reminder that Bryant wasn’t quite done trying to add to his legacy.
