3. March 13, 2004
Location: United Center
The fourth of what would be many 30+ point performances that Kobe had against the Chicago Bulls over the course of his lengthy and storied NBA career came back on March 13, 2004. Near the end of the 2003-04 NBA regular season, the Bulls were trying to at least head into the offseason with some momentum. The Bulls had a poor showing that season.
After this 88-81 loss at home at the United Center, the Bulls carried a record of 18-48. Compare that to the Lakers record of 43-23, and you get a picture of two teams that were trending in very different directions. The Bulls were just trying to develop their young team, that was led by point guard Kirk Hinrich and big man Eddy Curry in this game.
But despite the Bulls poor play up to that point of the 2003-04 regular season, they fought tough on the defensive end of the floor against Kobe and the Lakers. Superstar Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal had a tough time getting traction in the paint, as he finished with just 16 points to go along with 15 board. Shaq shot 7-of-18 from the field on this night.
Kobe finished up this game with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field to go along with three assists, eight rebounds, two steals, and one block. He did have five turnovers, but his 104 offensive rating was the best among the Lakers starting five and his 82 defensive rating was much better than the perception would hold him out on that end of the floor.