9. December 10, 2000 & March 15, 2001
Following his rookie season, Bryant would not score more than seven points against the Detroit Pistons until the 2000-01 season.
However, the the Lakers were coming off a championship campaign, successfully defending their 2000 title, and would eventually go on to repeat as NBA champions for the second time.
In the two team’s first match-up of the 2000-01 season, Kobe would find his stride on the way to a 26-point performance. Behind this outing, the Lakers would go to secure a 24-point win.
However, that would not be Bryant’s best outing against the Pistons that season, and the Lakers would go on to earn a season sweep of the Pistons.
In the teams’ second match-up that year, Bryant would outshine his previous performance. In a 125-119 overtime win for the Lakers, Kobe played 48 minutes and posted 39 points on 16-of-28 shooting.
This would be Kobe’s first 30-point game against the Detroit Pistons. Eight of Kobe’s points would come in overtime to help secure the win for the Lakers. In addition to a strong offensive performance, Kobe also notched five rebounds, seven assists and three steals.