Feb. 25, 2004
25 years, 186 days
Kobe Bryant sparked the Lakers’ furious last-minute rally, but an unlikely teammate ended it.
Trailing by seven with 1:13 remaining in Denver, Bryant hit a 3-pointer, which was then followed by a steal and layup from Luke Walton.
The Lakers trailed, 111-109, with 3.2 seconds to go and tried to get the ball to Bryant, but it instead ended up in the hands of Kareem Rush, who buried the game-winner.
While Rush provided the heroics, Bryant served as the engine in Los Angeles’ fifth straight win by scoring 35 points to match the production from a rookie named Carmelo Anthony.</p.
A crowd of 19,812 — the largest ever for a Nuggets game — was on hand to see its home team take a 12-point halftime lead. But Bryant managed to keep his team within striking distance, as he shot 14-of-26 while pitching in 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Denver shot 55.8 percent from the field, but simply gave away too many possessions with 20 turnovers.
Kobe performances on this day in history: