Kobe Bryant mustered everything he had to prevent the Lakers from collapsing, including a reverse tomahawk dunk with a minute left which sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
Bryant tied his season-high by pouring in 46 points in 41 minutes to lead the Lakers to a 114-109 win over New York.
Bryant shot 17-of-27 from the field and knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts, while collecting six rebounds. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal went off for 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
“Kobe and Shaq have shown they’re the top two dogs in the league,” Robert Horry told reporters. “They’re carrying us. You have to give the credit to those two guys.”
At first, Bryant had Los Angeles rolling by racking up 14 points in the second quarter and 22 in the following one to hand his team a 30-point lead at the end of three.
However, the Knicks stormed back with a 42-17 fourth quarter that nearly halted the Lakers from a five-game win streak.
Though New York came within five points of L.A., Bryant managed to fend away the rally by notching his fifth straight game of 35-plus points.
Kobe performances on this day in history:
THIS DAY IN KOBE HISTORY: February 6 2003: Bryant tied his season-high by pouring in 46 points in 41 minutes to lead the Lakers to a 114-109 win over New York. Bryant shot 17-of-27 from the field and knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts, while collecting six rebounds. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal went off for 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. More #TDIKH on Lakers.com A video posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Feb 6, 2016 at 11:24am PST
THIS DAY IN KOBE HISTORY: February 6 2003: Bryant tied his season-high by pouring in 46 points in 41 minutes to lead the Lakers to a 114-109 win over New York. Bryant shot 17-of-27 from the field and knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts, while collecting six rebounds. Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal went off for 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. More #TDIKH on Lakers.com
A video posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Feb 6, 2016 at 11:24am PST
