“He was real close to minutes I wanted him to play”.
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Bryant received cheers from the crowd and hugs from the Kings players on a night that saw him score 28 points in just 31 minutes.
Starting for the injured Omri Casspi, Quincy Acy had a near ideal 8-of-9 night from the field on his way to a season-high 18 points.
Durant was forced to sit out a 116-104 loss to Sacramento on Monday because of a sprained right big toe but returned two days later to lead the way in a 112-94 win over Memphis, Oklahoma City’s 14th in 17 games. The Kings were well on their way to a laugher.
Once their core of D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle find their groove, though, they’ll show the rest of the league that they were meant to compete with anybody.
Or maybe Bryant will remember this marked the game in which he became the youngest player to eclipse 33,000 points after missing the past three contests because of soreness in his right shoulder. In the fourth quarter he continued his tear, scoring 11 points while trading buckets with 23-year-old teammate Jordan Clarkson. Los Angeles erased a 27-point deficit in the second half to take a two-point lead with 1:34 remaining. They had ripped off a 48-20 run over 15:15, giving them a one-point lead in a game they’d been losing by 27.
Bryant received a loud ovation during the game and fans chanted his name in the fourth quarter, even though he was not going back in the game. Clarkson turned the ball over and Sacramento held on to win. Clarkson made a careless error and committed a turnover, which resulted in a foul and the Lakers trailing by three points.
Kobe dunks have been few and far between this season and it has seemed as if Kobe tends to miss time after he dunks.
“Under normal circumstances [in a season like this], at some point, you would probably concentrate on just developing all your young players”, Kupchak explained. “We have to be the aggressor and be physical right from the start”.
But it’s how the Kings won that had them talking of the need for more focus. The youthful Lakers have three rookies and two first-year players. According to the Los Angeles Daily News’ Mark Medina, Russell isn’t experiencing significant pain but couldn’t say definitively whether he’ll be able to play in Los Angeles’ next game.
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Kupchak admits that it is a must to develop their younger players now, but there’s a reason why they won’t do it.
