I've got to hand it to Kobe. Two days after getting called out here for putting up some of the "worst" individual game performances since the 1987-88, he posted a career night in a Lakers win over the Mavericks. He did all of his damage in the first 3 quarters, personally outscoring the Mavs 62-61 over that period.

In doing so, he sneaked into the top 10 overall performances--at the expense of Shaq's 61-point game, which slipped to #11 (still listed below). As usual, game performances are rated using John Hollinger's Game Scores formula; see my 12/4 post for more details.

Best Overall Performances (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
Michael Jordan	03/28/1990	50	23-37	2-6	21-23	18	6	5	4	2	1	69	64.6	Win
Karl Malone	01/27/1990	33	21-26	0-0	19-23	18	2	2	3	2	0	61	60.2	Win
Michael Jordan	04/03/1988	42	21-27	0-1	17-19	4	6	4	2	1	2	59	54.7	Win
David Robinson	04/24/1994	44	26-41	1-2	18-25	14	5	2	0	8	2	71	51.8	Win
Michael Jordan	11/03/1989	47	19-31	1-2	15-17	14	6	3	3	0	1	54	51.2	Win
Reggie Miller	11/28/1992	38	16-29	4-11	21-23	5	8	1	1	0	0	57	50.4	Win
Tom Chambers	03/24/1990	42	22-32	0-0	16-18	6	4	5	1	1	2	60	50.0	Win
Kobe Bryant	12/20/2005	33	18-31	4-10	22-25	8	0	3	3	2	0	62	49.7	Win
Charles Barkley	11/30/1988	41	13-16	0-1	15-20	22	5	2	6	3	1	41	49.6	Win
Willie Burton	12/13/1994	43	12-19	5-8	24-28	8	3	2	1	1	2	53	49.6	Win
Shaquille O'Neal	03/06/2000	45	24-35	0-0	13-22	23	3	2	0	4	0	61	49.5	Win

Included in this list are a few historic games:

• MJ's top scoring performance (69 points) coincided with his rebounding career high (18), against his most-tortured opponent: the Cavs.
• David Robinson's 71-point game on the last game of the 93-94 season, putting him ahead of Shaq for the scoring title. According to the Admiral, the lottery-bound Clippers were "fighting, clawing, bumping, grinding, and double- and triple-teaming" him that night. We'll have to take his word for that.
• Career 10 ppg player Willie Burton lit up his former team (the Heat) for 53 points in 1994, in what may have been the most unexpected 50-point outburst ever. Then again, Tracy Murray, Dana Barros, Cedric Ceballos, Nick Anderson, Charles Smith, and Tony Delk all have 50-point games under their belts as well.

Warrants mentioning: All 11 of these top performances led to wins for the respective players' teams.

As previously noted, the number of points scored is the most significant determinant of the Game Scores formula, as evidenced by the fact that the average points scored for these performances was 58.9. As a result, running "best performance" analysis for players scoring less than 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 points also yields interesting results:

Best Performances By Players Scoring <10 Points (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
Nate McMillan	02/26/1988	38	3-8	0-0	3-4	13	14	3	6	1	0	9	24.9	Win
Mookie Blaylock	12/10/1999	41	4-12	1-3	0-0	4	19	2	7	1	0	9	21.9	Win
John Stockton	03/24/1990	36	3-5	0-0	2-3	1	20	2	3	1	1	8	21.9	Win
Bo Outlaw	04/06/1998	42	2-4	0-0	4-4	11	9	0	3	1	3	8	21.3	Win
Ben Wallace	03/20/2003	35	3-6	0-0	2-4	22	2	2	2	1	9	8	20.7	Win

Best Performances By Players Scoring <20 Points (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
John Stockton	02/19/1988	42	8-9	0-0	3-6	2	21	0	8	4	0	19	34.4	Win
Fat Lever	04/21/1989	42	6-11	0-0	3-4	13	23	3	5	1	0	15	32.5	Win
John Stockton	02/20/1988	35	7-8	1-1	1-1	0	21	2	6	1	0	16	32.1	Win
Dikembe Mutombo	11/11/1994	53	6-7	0-0	7-10	26	1	3	0	1	9	19	30.7	Win
John Stockton	12/19/1989	36	8-12	1-2	1-2	3	27	5	2	2	0	18	30.6	Loss

Best Performances By Players Scoring <30 Points (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
Hakeem Olajuwon	03/03/1990	40	13-25	0-0	3-4	18	10	5	5	0	11	29	41.8	Win
Magic Johnson	11/17/1989	40	6-13	1-3	11-11	8	24	0	6	3	1	24	41.0	Win
John Stockton	01/03/1989	45	12-16	0-1	2-2	1	24	3	6	1	0	26	40.9	Loss
Doc Rivers	12/29/1987	39	7-11	0-0	15-17	14	12	3	4	1	0	29	38.9	Win
Magic Johnson	04/23/1989	40	8-14	4-4	9-9	9	21	2	1	2	0	29	38.8	Win

Best Performances By Players Scoring <40 Points (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
Tim Duncan	03/04/2003	44	14-18	0-1	7-9	21	8	1	2	2	4	35	44.7	Loss
Shaquille O'Neal	02/18/1994	41	16-19	0-0	6-7	20	3	1	1	2	5	38	44.5	Win
Charles Barkley	11/07/1992	44	11-16	0-1	15-17	21	8	2	1	3	1	37	44.0	Win
Karl Malone	01/30/1993	40	11-18	0-1	16-17	16	3	2	3	2	5	38	43.2	Win
David Robinson	02/27/1992	41	13-18	0-0	11-14	24	2	4	3	3	5	37	42.9	Win

Best Performances By Players Scoring <50 Points (1987-88 through present)

Player	Date	Min	FG	3P	FT	Reb	Ass	PF	St	TO	Blk	Pts	Score	Outcome
Charles Barkley	11/30/1988	41	13-16	0-1	15-20	22	5	2	6	3	1	41	49.6	Win
Michael Jordan	01/15/1989	41	13-23	0-3	16-17	9	11	2	8	2	0	42	46.7	Win
Hakeem Olajuwon	03/23/1996	44	16-23	0-0	14-18	19	8	3	3	6	3	46	46.7	Loss
Dominique Wilkins	12/29/1990	42	15-25	3-5	12-12	14	6	2	3	1	1	45	46.6	Win
David Robinson	01/10/1991	41	14-21	0-0	15-15	12	3	4	4	4	10	43	46.6	Win

As you can see, these performances include a lot of near-triple-doubles, triple-doubles, and even a quadruple-double by Hakeem Olajuwon from 1990 (points, rebounds, assists, and blocks). Many of the players in these lists are known for their contributions in areas other than scoring. 5 of John Stockton's games made the cut.

Again, strong individual performances led to team success, with 84% of the peak performers' teams winning their games.