Regardless, most teams have done one of three things in their final home game against Bryant – privately give him a gift long before tipoff, honor him with a pregame scoreboard video or both.
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Kobe Bryant has been involved in an National Basketball Association player love fest since announcing his retirement plans earlier this year. The Pacers disappointed on the whole, finishing 38-44 and missing the postseason, and Hibbert’s departure was hardly surprising.
The Pacers defending their home court on Monday, beating the Lakers 89-87 thanks in part to some late game heroics from Paul George. It also featured a lot of Bryant’s defiance.
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points in his final appearance in Indianapolis. “That’s who he (Bryant) has been”, Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. As far as I can tell, this is as close to a college atmosphere as it gets. George, whose boyhood idol was Bryant, scored the next six points on three free throws and a three-point play to salvage a victory. Jordan Clarkson scored 10 points, his 22nd consecutive game in double figures.
He then beat Bryant on the and-one drive to put the Pacers back in front. It was just a matter of make (the shots). “That’s what it was like the whole time”.
Or maybe they closely followed the standard email the Lakers sent opponents before playing on the road. Bryant added he felt “horrible” and had “locked up” throughout the game.
The league had to begrudgingly award a win in this excuse for a game, but at least it was in that gets to claim it. The All-Star Break can’t come soon enough, but one game remains as they host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. “They’ve always been pretty tough on me here”. George leads in three statistical categories: points (23.4), rebounds (7.1) and steals (1.9) per game.
But the game took a turn for better and for worse during Bryant’s fluctuating play.
The last time the Pacers and Lakers met, it was in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, with the Pacers barely pulling out the 107-103 win.
“He came out and he performed late”, said George. “When the game is on the line, that’s when he is at his best”.
He nearly missed an uncontested second-quarter quasi-dunk, seemingly mistiming his approach and lightly hitting the rim with the ball, which barely scooted through.
The Lakers trailed 75-68 before a Bryant-led rally gave Los Angeles an 84-80 lead with 1:26 remaining. Bryant missed more shots from 21, 26 and 29-feet, respectively. “I think I am just getting back to being patient”, George said afterward.
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“I pulled a rabbit out of the hat, ” he said, “and then the rabbit disappeared”. Bryant said he tried forcing George to the middle of the free-throw line, believing he had help defense.
