But Bryant surely didn’t mind that gift as he is from the Philadelphia area and who’s going to turn down a gift from Dr. J? Moreover, the Hawks will make a donation to Zoo Atlanta to further honor Bryant. The Lakers desperately needed a win after losing to the league-worst 76ers and they showed up in a big way for Bryant who recently announced his retirement. Jordan Clarkson added 18 points as Los Angeles finished a stretch of four games in five days.
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The Lakers missed their first nine shots – three by Bryant – while falling behind 7-0 but were able to get within 23-19 at the end of the first quarter thanks to 10 points off the bench by Williams. “During that game, when I was watching him and putting him [in the game] and taking him out, that’s the most relaxed and at peace that I’ve ever seen him”.
Bryant showed a few flashes of his once-dominant skills, holding up three fingers on each hand after hitting consecutive 3-pointers to bring the loudest cheers of the night from the capacity Philips Arena crowd midway through the third.
“There’s a lot of self doubt, self criticism and a lot of moments where we feel discouraged”, Bryant said. “I’m going to ride with whatever happens”.
To me, that’s a little surprising since playing a bad team at home like the Los Angeles Lakers would serve as a great opportunity for sparingly used players like Hardaway and Tavares to get some much-needed playing time. I said, ‘You really did.’ He said, ‘I know.
At the end of it, Kobe asked Dwyane if his sons were coming to the game the next night. “We had the one winning streak but other than that we’ve just been game to game”. At this point, however, it’s clear Russell has no one challenging him for minutes.
“I said, ‘What?!’ That was the shock part”.
Kobe Bryant scored 12 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter of his final game in Washington to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Wizards 108-104 on Wednesday night. Scott didn’t exactly have an easy time blocking out the news with his team on the court in the second half.
US basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo also told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein on November 29 that Bryant “remains in contention” for a spot on the team.
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With five assists on the evening, Atlanta’s Jeff Teague passed Hall Of Famer Dominique Wilkins for seventh all-time in total assists in Atlanta Hawks history.
