Eighty. One. Points.
On this day in 2006, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest single-game scoring performance in NBA history:
100 — Wilt Chamberlain (March 2, 1962)
81 — Kobe Bryant (Jan. 22, 2006)
78 — Chamberlain (Dec. 8, 1961)
73 — Chamberlain (Jan. 13, 1962)
73 — Chamberlain (Nov. 16, 1962)
73 — David Thompson (April 9, 1978)
Bryant singlehandedly outscored the Raptors 55-41 in the second half of this game, as the Lakers turned a 14-point halftime deficit into an 18-point victory.
Bryant shot 28-46 from the field — including 7-13 from 3-point range — and made 18 of his 20 free throws. Only two players in NBA history have made more field goals in a game: Wilt Chamberlain (seven times) and Rick Barry.
Here are Bryant’s makes and misses from the field by quarter:
Q1 — 2-2-x-x-x-2-2-x-x-2
Q2 — 3-x-x-x-2-2-2-2
Q3 — x-x-2-2-2-3-3-3-2-3-x-2-2-2-x
Q4 — x-x-2-2-x-2-3-3-2-x-2-x-x
Bryant scored 66.4% of the Lakers’ points, the second-highest such percentage in NBA history by a player who scored at least 60 points in a game:
67.0% — George Mikan (Jan. 20, 1952)
66.4% — Kobe Bryant (Jan. 22, 2006)
63.4% — David Robinson (April 24, 1994)
62.6% — Wilt Chamberlain (Nov. 3, 1962)
59.4% — Bryant (April 13, 2016)
Russ Starts Record Streak
On this day in 2019, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the first of 11 consecutive triple-doubles for Westbrook, the longest such streak in NBA history:
11 — Russell Westbrook (Jan. 22, 2019–Feb. 14, 2019)
9 — Wilt Chamberlain (March 8, 1968–March 20, 1968)
7 — Oscar Robertson (Jan. 1, 1961–Jan. 12, 1961)
7 — Michael Jordan (March 25, 1989–April 6, 1989)
7 — Westbrook (March 22, 2017–April 4, 2017)
Westbrook averaged 21.9 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 13.5 APG during the streak, with the Thunder winning nine of the 11 games.
Zion Williamson’s Debut
On this day in 2020, Zion Williamson made his NBA debut with the New Orleans Pelicans, scoring 22 points despite playing just 18 minutes in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. It’s the fewest minutes played by a player who scored at least 20 points in his NBA debut.
Williamson shot 8-11 from the field with four 3-pointers made, an effective field goal percentage of 90.9%. Only one player in NBA history has scored at least 20 points with a higher effective field goal percentage in his NBA debut: Gordon Giricek on Oct. 30, 2002 (92.3%).
Williamson’s four 3-pointers made are still his career high. In fact, Williamson only has two other games in which he’s made two 3-pointers, both of which occurred this season (Nov. 7, 2022 and Dec. 11, 2022).
Williamson did not miss a 3-pointer in this contest. No other player in NBA history has made at least four 3-pointers without a miss in his NBA debut.
Capela: No Hits, No Errors
On this day in 2021, the Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capela had 13 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks, zero turnovers, and zero personal fouls in a 116-98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78, Capela is one of only three players to record a triple-double without committing a turnover or personal foul:
Derek Anderson (Dec. 6, 1999)
Ben Simmons (March 19, 2018)
Clint Capela (Jan. 22, 2021)
Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, Capela is one of only four players to record a 10-block game without committing a personal foul:
Keon Clark (March 23, 2001)
Clavin Booth (Jan. 13, 2004)
Josh Smith (Dec. 18, 2004)
Clint Capela (Jan. 22, 2021)
Boogie Nights
On this day in 2018, the New Orleans Pelicans’ DeMarcus Cousins racked up 44 points, 23 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 132-128 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls. Cousins is one of only seven players in NBA history to record at least 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game (a total of 12 instances):
Wilt Chamberlain (6 times)
Elgin Baylor
Oscar Robertson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
DeMarcus Cousins
Nikola Jokic
Luka Doncic
Just four days later, Cousins tore his left Achilles tendon late in the fourth quarter of a win over the Houston Rockets, ending his season a little more than a week after he was voted an All-Star Game starter.
Rodman Sets Franchise Mark
On this day in 1994, the San Antonio Spurs’ Dennis Rodman set a franchise single-game record with 32 rebounds in a 103-83 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Rodman owns the four highest single-game rebounding totals in franchise history:
32 — Jan. 22, 1994
30 — Feb. 21, 1995
29 — Nov. 9, 1993
28 — Dec. 1, 1993
Rodman scored just eight points in this game, one of three 30-rebound games in which he scored fewer than 10 points. The only other player over the last 50 NBA seasons to record even one such game is Michael Cage (April 24, 1988).