Kobe Bryant’s relentless approach to being perfect and the best in the business is well-documented. All he needed was a slight to set him off, and payback was inevitable.
One of those instances was when he outscored the Dallas Mavericks in three quarters all by himself, and his then-coach Del Harris was the reason behind the Mavericks’ decimation.
It was an eventful December 20 evening, and Dallas didn’t see a 62-point explosion coming from Bryant. The Lakers won 112-90 and the guard was on a rampage outscoring the entire Mavericks team in just 32 minutes in the three quarters.
The legend attributed the performance to two reasons, and one of them was about proving a point to Harris. The other was to send out a message to the other teams in the league. According to Ballislife:
“I was very angry, I felt like I wanted to come out and send a message, that we’re going to dominate at home. We’re going to hit you, we’re going to bring it to you. I wanted to send that message.I just felt like I could continue to attack these guys,” Bryant said. “It was just determination, take it to them. It’s definitely the best scoring game I’ve ever had.”
Bryant scored 15 points in the first quarter, upped it to 17 in the second, and then notched up a franchise-record 30 in the third.
Kobe Bryant On His Motivation Behind The Scintillating Display Against The Mavericks: “I Hated Del”
Coming back to the first reason, Bryant revealed that hated Del Harris since he was a rookie.
That was purely meant as a joke, something that The Dallas Morning News said was lost in the years that followed.
“When I was a rookie. I hated Del. I always said if I get a chance to get revenge, I’m going to get it.”
It’s also worth noting that Bryant appreciated all that Harris had taught him in his formative years.
“He pushed me back then to try to be as efficient as possible to get some minutes on the floor. I had to earn everything I got. I’m very appreciative now.”
On the game front, Bryant ended his evening with 62 points and 8 rebounds and didn’t take the floor in the final stretch.
The performance may have been well over a decade ago, but it’s one from the vault that shows why Bryant was one of the greatest to have played the sport.
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