Kobe Bryant’s top 100 games: No. 60

Kobe Bryant set the tone for the 2010 Western Conference finals versus the Suns with 40 points in a Game 1 Lakers blowout.

In the spring of 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled themselves together and started to make a run toward what they hoped would be a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics.

But first, they had to defeat another rival in the Western Conference finals: the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns had dispatched L.A. in the first round of the 2006 and 2007 playoffs, and those playoff losses became something of a symbol of the team’s mediocrity at the time.

Kobe Bryant didn’t forget, and he wanted revenge.

He went off in Game 1 against Phoenix, scoring 40 points and adding five assists, as the Lakers blasted the Suns, 128-107.

The Black Mamba did so despite a bad knee, a bad ankle and an avulsion fracture on the index finger of his shooting hand.

Pau Gasol had 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting, while Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds.

The Suns realized that not only was Bryant back to his old self but that they were also dealing with a very tall and skilled Lakers frontline they simply couldn’t neutralize.

[mm-video type=video id=01gaw7q51cepg51pw6tf playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gaw7q51cepg51pw6tf/01gaw7q51cepg51pw6tf-3c9dfa13232b0900f6cbe6622d3122fe.jpg]

[listicle id=85345]