With the Los Angeles Lakers in a tight race for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs, Kobe Bryant overcame a sinus infection to score a game-high 42 points in a 106-94 win against the Golden State Warriors in front of a then-franchise record crowd of 20,375.
Bryant shot 11-for-29 from the field, made 16 of 18 free throw attempts, and added four rebounds, five assists and three steals to keep the Lakers 1.5 games ahead of the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.
In the process, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 16,000 career points at 27 years and 192 days old.