Recap Rewind: Kobe Bryant breaks single game 3-point record as Lakers route Supersonics
The Lakers beat the Supersonics 119-98.
Editor’s note: Until the NBA season returns, we’ll be recapping every classic Lakers game that is televised or live-streamed in a series we’re calling Recap Rewind.
Tuesday night’s game between the Seattle Supersonics and Los Angeles Lakers wasn’t supposed to be a marquee matchup. Both teams have gotten off to slow starts to the season and are on the outside looking in of playoff picture in the Western Conference.
Sure, both teams were in need of a win to get their seasons back on track, but by all accounts, it was just another regular season game. Then, Kobe Bryant went out and made history.
During Tuesday night’s game, Bryant broke the NBA record for the most made 3-pointers in a single game with 12 made 3-pointers. The previous record was held by Dennis Scott, who made 11 3-pointers in a game against the Atlanta Hawks in 1996. Scott and Bryant are the only two players in NBA history that have mad more than 10 3-pointers in a single game.
The most impressive part of Bryant’s tremendous feat is how efficiently he shot from behind the 3-point line. Bryant made 12 of his 18 3-point attempts. Remarkably, Bryant 18 3-point attempts aren’t even the most in NBA history. That record is held by George McCould, who once attempted 20 3-pointers in a game — maybe Bryant will break that record, too.
Bryant ended his night with a game-high 45 points on 16-28 shooting from the field, and the Lakers handily beat the Supersonics 119-98. This is Bryant’s sixth game with more than 40 points this season. Bryant is ranked second in the NBA in points per game (27.6 PPG), trailing only Tracy McGrady, who’s averaging 30.3 points per game this season.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have four of their last five games after going 7-8 in December. Since the start of the new year, Los Angeles has looked like a different team, thanks in no small part to the fact that Shaquille O’Neal is starting to look like himself again. They should be able to keep things rolling on Friday, when they host the 7-29 Cleveland Cavaliers.
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