5 Legendary performances of Kobe Bryant in NBA Finals

#1 36 vs Boston Celtics, Game 3, 10th June 2008

Kobe dropped 36 points and lifted Lakers over Celtics

Stat line: 36 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals on 60.0% shooting

After losing the first two games of the 2008 NBA Finals at TD Garden, the Lakers came back to Los Angeles to protect their home court. Kobe was not very efficient in the first two games and for the Lakers to deliver a strong performance in Game 3, he knew he had to explode.

Kobe dropped 36 points on a 12 of 20 shooting with a really eye-catching field-goal percentage of 60.0. The Celtics defenders had a tough time guarding Kobe as he went for 11 of 18 from the free throw line. Bryant was very aggressive throughout the game as he also had 7 rebounds and an assist.

Albeit the Celtics were leading by two points after three quarters, the Lakers turned the tables in the fourth quarter. With 6:55 left in the fourth quarter, Kobe knocked down a 3-pointer to give the home team the lead, 69-66. Sasha Vujacic provided the much-needed spark off the bench and scored 20 points in the game on a 10-20 shooting.

With Lakers leading by 4 and less than one minute remaining, the Black Mamba delivered the dagger with a pump-fake. Kobe led both the teams in scoring in this series averaging 25.7 points per game but the Boston Celtics had too much fire-power and went on to close out the Lakers in six games.