March 9, 2012
33 years, 199 days
The Lakers needed all they could get out of Kobe Bryant, who got what he needed from the free throw line, going 10-of-10, including on a pair of foul shots within the final 17 seconds.
Down by one, Bryant cashed in at the charity stripe with 16.4 seconds remaining. Just 13 ticks later he hit two more to ice Los Angeles’ 105-102 win over Minnesota.
Bryant finished the night with 34 points, while Andrew Bynum did his part with 26 points — half of which came in the second quarter — and 10 rebounds.
It wasn’t easy for L.A., which trailed by a dozen after the first quarter. But the purple and gold clawed back, as Bryant added 14 points in the third quarter alone — minutes after passing the career 29,000-point mark.
Despite Kevin Love sitting out with back spasms, six Timberwolves finished in double figures, including three with double-doubles, like Nikola Pekovic (25 points, 13 rebounds) and Derrick Williams (22 points, 10 rebounds).
Nevertheless, Bryant managed to fuel the Lakers’ 18th consecutive win over Minnesota.
Kobe performances on this day in history: