March 27, 2011
32 years, 216 days
In a preview of that year’s Western Conference first round, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers treated New Orleans to look at what was to come.
Bryant scored 30 points to lead Los Angeles’ 102-84 victory over the team that it would defeat in six games a month later.
Bryant scored 19 in the first half alone, pushing the Lakers out to a 57-41 advantage at intermission.
Though the Hornets cut their deficit to 78-72 early in the fourth quarter, L.A. responded with a 12-4 run to pull away for good, sealing the sweep over New Orleans.
In addition to Bryant’s big night, Pau Gasol went off for 23 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, as the Lakers won for the seventh straight time.
With leading scorer David West out for the season, New Orleans shot just 40.2 percent from the field, relying on Carl Landry’s 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leader in games played for the purple and gold with 1,094.
Kobe performances on this day in history: