Pivot Points: Kobe, A.I. Revisit 2001 NBA Finals On Friday Night

There was nothing special about Friday night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers until the third quarter, when a scoring duel pitting Kobe Bryant against Allen Iverson sent me on a trip down memory lane.

2001 was a great year for Laker fans who were coming off their first NBA championship since 1988, and seemed destined to be the first repeat champions since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls of the 90's.

The Lakers had lost point guard Derek Fisher to an injury but he returned a few weeks before the playoffs started, and his return ushered in one of the greatest playoff runs in modern history.

Fisher must have had pixie dust sprinkled on his shooting hand because for those few memorable weeks he seemed incapable of missing shots, as he blazed through the playoffs with a 75 percent shooting average from the three point line.

Los Angeles breezed through the playoffs, failing to lose one single game, and the only thing which stood between them and destiny was a scrappy Philadelphia team led by Iverson, one of the league's brightest stars.

Nothing much was expected of the 76ers, and few expected them to put up much of a challenge to the Lakers, but Iverson changed that perception in Game one of the Finals by leading his team to an upset victory.

The Lakers reeling from their first loss of the postseason barely managed to escape Game two with a win, and observers began to think the series might not be as much of a mis-match as first thought.

During that second game Bryant and Iverson had more than a few testy exchanges and both players left the floor after the game trading insults, with Iverson promising a different outcome on the East Coast.

Bryant, during the course of a press conference, said the Lakers were going to Philadelphia to rip the 76ers' hearts out and immediately drew the ire and scorn from legions of his home town fans.

He was booed incessantly in his return, but the 76ers were unable to match their intensity of the first two contests and Los Angeles swept the rest of the games and celebrated their second consecutive title on Philly's home court.

Bryant, once a hometown hero, became hated and the tension between fans and Bryant reached a crescendo during the All-Star game the following year when Bryant was booed into tears after being named MVP.

The careers of Bryant and Iverson took decidedly different paths after 2001 as Bryant went on to compete in four more NBA Finals and win two more championships, while Iverson was unable to reach that pinnacle again.

In fact, Iverson was banished to the role of a journeyman, making stops in Denver, Detroit, and Memphis before coming full circle to the 76ers earlier this year.

Which brings us back to Friday night where Iverson had perhaps his most effective game since donning the colors of the 76ers again, which isn't a surprise considering the competition.

Although Bryant and Iverson are friendly the residue from that one-sided Finals match-up still exists, and both players relish the opportunity to put their skills on the line against each other.

Bryant scored 14 points in the third quarter, but was one-upped by Iverson who scored 15 and demonstrated some of the explosive ability that seems to have departed as of late.

There were many similar instances on Friday night and 2001, such as the duel between Bryant and Iverson and the constant booing which greeted Bryant, followed by the bulbs of a thousand cameras being flashed.

As much as things change though some remain the same, as Bryant and his Lakers ended the evening in the same manner they ended Iverson and the 76ers season in 2001, with a 99-91 victory.

For one night we were treated to a brilliant display by two of the most decorated players in the game, even if one is still in his prime, while the other was struggling to capture vestiges of his storied past.