One of Kobe Bryant’s most clinical, ruthless and efficient playoff performances is one that gets lost amidst so many others: Game 6 of the 2009 Western Conference Finals, at Denver.
I was very fortunate to cover every game Kobe played from the start of the 2008-09 season until his 60-point finale in 2016, and that Game 6 was one of my favorites.
After splitting the first four games with the Nuggets, the Lakers put themselves in position to clinch the series with a 103-94 win in Game 5, and Kobe was in full Black Mamba mode from the opening tip.
Here’s a running diary of that contest:
STARTERS
Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum
Nuggets: Chauncey Billups, Dahntay Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nenê Hilario
FIRST QUARTER
11:35: After a missed alley-oop from Fisher to Bynum, Kobe – who’d drawn the early double team to create the first shot, a trend that would continue – jumped a passing lane to force a loose ball, and Billups had to foul him to prevent a turnover. On the ensuing inbounds play, Jones didn’t want to leave Kobe, allowing Gasol a 1-on-1 opportunity on the low block, which he used to calmly convert a hook over Nene.
7:17: Kobe’s first points of came at the free throw line, to make it 9-5 early, after Bynum blocked Billups at the rim. The Lakers were getting much better shots than Denver, who struggled with LAL’s length in the paint, and their ball movement out of double teams. Two minutes later, Lamar Odom – the NBA’s best player that didn’t start, by far – checked in to set LAL’s top lineup; he was a +18 in their Game 5 win.
0:00: Kobe grabbed a board – his third – as time expired with his team up 25-20; Bryant played a complete floor game in the first 12 minutes that would extend to the next three quarters, as he drew Nuggets attention that resulted in part on players like Ariza really getting the job done, hitting 4 of 5 FG’s for 10 points.
SECOND QUARTER
8:41: Kobe sat for only six minutes in the game, including to start the 2nd Q, as Jordan Farmar (8:02) and Sasha Vujacic (6:55) got their first run. Shannon Brown would also play a key set of minutes in the fourth quarter, though this was essentially a 7-man rotation for Phil Jackson (including an impressive performance from Luke Walton alongside Odom off the bench). Vujacic hit a 3 to put LAL up six as Kobe rested, but Denver rallied to take a 1-point lead behind sub J.R. Smith, who was already up to 11 points. As such, Jackson put Kobe in out of the next time out, and he prompted notched his third assist on a short baseline J for Walton.
5:54: Coming out of a time out, ESPN showed a highlight of LeBron James dismantling Orlando in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals to make it 3-2 Orlando; many of us thought we were destined for Kobe vs. LeBron in the Finals, but Orlando ended up closing the Cavs out in six.
Alas, LAL’s game still appeared to be in doubt at this point, as they led by one despite controlling much of the game. Then, Fisher drilled a 3, starting a big Kobe-led run in the final six minutes of the second that put L.A. in firm control. ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy made a good point as Kobe scored two of his 11 points in the period at the FT line, noting that his strength was very underrated, as he was so good at taking contact, keeping his balance and still managing to either convert his FGA, or get to the line.
0:04.1: Kobe drilled a corner 3-pointer to cap a 9-1 run that closed the half, making it a 13-point margin, 53-40. That gave him 18 points, six assists and three boards, for a +19 in 20 minutes of action. After revealing to then sideline reporter Doris Burke that he was taking what DEN was giving him offensively, he said the key to the second half would be: “Stay disciplined defensively.”
THIRD QUARTER
8:23: With Denver again focused on Kobe, Gasol started to feast after a first half in which he took only four shots (hitting three). A beauty of a move around Martin ended in a touch shot off the glass; the Spaniard had eight points and five boards in the quarter to keep the Lakers firmly in control.
6:06: Back-to-back buckets from Walton both came from Kobe, his 7th and 8th dimes to that point. Moments later, Kobe took contact from Billups and Nene, hung in the air, and banked in a floater plus the foul to make it 71-55. Among his most difficult shots of the game came moments later, a hanging, contested long two that put the Lakers up 20.
0:06.0: A steal from Gasol on a brainy read in the paint resulted in a pair of Vujacic FT’s, his 3rd and 4th of the past minute, that sent L.A. into the 4th Q with an 83-67 lead. The Lakers wouldn’t miss a free throw all night, converting 24 of 24.
FOURTH QUARTER
11:05: After scoring at the rim courtesy of a pretty pass from Gasol – who’d drawn the double teams that George Karl ran at him and Kobe for much of the night – Odom pulled up and drilled a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 88-67, their biggest lead to that point. Odom ended up with 20 points, including 12 in the 4th Q, delivering in a big way for Kobe just as he did all season. The Lakers shot the ball extremely well all night, converting 9 of 16* attempts from distance as a team (56.3%), and 57.3% overall.
*As a reference to the evolution of 3-point shooting, the team that attempted the fewest 3’s in the NBA in 2022-23, Chicago, took 28.9.
8:02; 6:58; 6:15: With three straight baskets, Kobe climbed up to 35 points, and did so in typically versatile fashion as a scorer, to basically bury the Nuggets. First came a beautiful pump fake that got Nene in the air, opening a path for a driving dunk; next he blew by J.R. Smith from the top of the key and finished with a finger roll. Finally, Bryant caught the ball on the right wing, and used his patented footwork to set up for a three without giving up his triple threat position, and rose and fired.
2:49: Bryant’s 10th assist came on another feed to Gasol, this one right at the rim after Kobe drew the defense on a baseline drive. That completed one of the more precise games you’ll see in a game with such high stakes, as Kobe had only one turnover on the evening. Phil Jackson would pull him moments later, with L.A. up 26.
0:00: The final: Lakers 119, Nuggets 92. Kobe’s 35 points came on 12 of 20 FG’s (60.0%), 2 of 4 3’s and 9 of 9 FT’s, with the 10 assists, one turnover, six rebounds and one block for a game-best +31.
Kobe summarized to Burke: “We had the effort and the execution to match … we executed extremely well. We gained valuable experience. It’s been a physical march all the way back to the Finals. Every series has been tough, and now we’re back in a place where we didn’t finish our business last year. Hopefully we will this year.”
And they would, bringing Kobe’s first of two consecutive Finals MVP awards.