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March 6, 2000
Shaquille O’Neal scored a career-high 61 points (24-of-35 from the field and 13-of-22 from the free-throw line) on his 28th birthday in a 123-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. O’Neal also recorded 23 rebounds and three assists.
March 6, 2019
LeBron James (32,295 points) passed Michael Jordan (32,292) for fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with an and-one layup. Despite a near 31-point (13-of-22 from the field) triple-double, the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets.
March 7, 1996
Magic Johnson became the second player in NBA history to record at least 10,000 career assists. He finished with 15 points (5-of-10 from the field), five rebounds, and seven assists in a 102-89 win over the Sacramento Kings.
March 8, 2006
Lakers defeated the New Orleans Hornets 113-107 in what was the first major professional sporting event in the city since Hurricane Katrina. Kobe Bryant finished with 40 points while Lamar Odom added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
March 9, 1988
Pat Riley recorded his 400th career head coaching win in a 104-99 win over the New York Knicks. He reached this individual milestone in only 540 games, which was the fastest than any other head coach in NBA history.
March 10, 1987
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (4,194 fouls) passed Elvin Hayes (4,193) for first on the NBA’s all-time fouling list after charging into Danny Schayes. As Abdul-Jabbar only committed one foul, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets.
March 13, 1992
Chick Hearn called his 2,500th consecutive Lakers game in a 109-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
March 16, 2000
Lakers winning streak (19 games) ended in a 109-102 loss to the Washington Wizards. The streak ranked third at the time in NBA history as only Shaquille O’Neal, Glen Rice, and Robert Horry scored in double-figures for them.
Kobe Bryant scored 65 points (23-of-39 from the field, 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, and 8-of-12 from the three-point line) in a 116-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Lamar Odom added 15 points and nine rebounds.
March 19, 1956
Lakers defeated the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in Game 2 of the Western Division Finals. It marked the largest margin of victory (58 points) in NBA playoff history. All 10 Lakers players who played also scored in double figures.
March 19, 1972
Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in what was the most lopsided win in NBA history, 162-99. The 63-point margin lasted for almost 20 years until the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat 148-80 (68 points).
March 20, 1990
Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s No. 33 jersey.
March 23, 1999
Dick Enroth, who was the voice of the Lakers, died at 80 years old due to cancer.
March 24, 1970
Jerry West won his first and only scoring title after averaging 31.2 points per game.
March 26, 1972
Lakers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 124-98 to finish the season with the best record in NBA history (69-13). The record lasted for almost 25 years until Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finished with a 72-10 record.
March 27, 1994
Magic Johnson became the Lakers head coach and led them to a 110-101 win over Vin Baker and the Milwaukee Bucks. Johnson coached the team’s final 16 games of the season where he finished with just a 5-11 record.
March 28, 1982
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the 15th player in NBA history to play in 1,000 regular season games. He finished with 18 points (8-of-11 from the field) in 26 minutes as the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings, 116-111.
March 29, 1952
George Mikan scored a then NBA playoff record 47 points against the Rochester Royals in Game 1 of the Western Division Finals. Despite Mikan’s historical effort, the Lakers fell short but won the best-of-five playoff series.
March 29, 1962
Elgin Baylor (45 points) and Jerry West (41 points) became the first teammates to both score at least 40 in an NBA playoff game. However, the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons 118-117 in Game 4 of the Western Division Finals.
