After three Quarters, It was Kobe 62, Mavericks 61
Bryant had 15 points in the first quarter and 17 in the second. Then all hell broke loose in the third when he scored 30. 62 points was all Kobe got for the night, as coach Phil Jackson decided that the Lakers could coast the rest of the way, without their future hall-of-famer in the lineup. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 29-17 during the all garbage time fourth quarter, and still lost 112-90.
Kobe’s 30-point quarter was three shy of the record of 33, set by George Gervin in 1978, and tied by Carmelo Anthony in 2008. Earlier on the same day (April 9, 1978), David Thompson scored 32 points in the first quarter en route a a 73-point game. Gervin and Thompson were in a tightly contested race to win the league scoring title. They both had their big outbursts on the last game of the regular season. Gervin prevailed to win the scoring title, even though he “only” scored 62 points that day. He wound up with 2,272 points for the season vs. Thompson’s 2162.
In his epic 100-point spree in 1962, Wilt Chamberlain needed 31 fourth quarter points, to reach the century mark.