PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kobe Bryant considers his 81-point game in 2006 to be the masterpiece performance of his 20-season NBA career.
That game is, of course, worthy of such distinction, as it marked the second-highest scoring effort in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962.
But an equally impressive outburst by Bryant -- if not more impressive, in some ways -- came on Dec. 20, 2005, when the Los Angeles Lakers star scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks.