Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have competed in two Olympics together.
Advertisement
Kobe Bryant’s final game in Cleveland was reduced to a sideshow when Cavaliers forward Kevin Love re-injured his surgically repaired left shoulder in a 120-111 win over the Lakers on Wednesday night.
With 20,000 fans roaring, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James hugged and seemed to be in a world of their own.
His left arm dangling, Love immediately headed to the locker room with 46.5 seconds left in the half, with Cavs general manager David Griffin not far behind him. Hopefully Love will be playing in The Finals, an opportunity he was robbed of by Olynyk last spring.
A Cavaliers source said Wednesday’s injury did not appear to be as serious as the previous shoulder problem and that Love had left the match out of an abundance of caution.
This game bore more significance for the symbolism surrounding Bryant’s last appearance in Cleveland.
Bryant finished with 17 points and six rebounds while shooting just five of 16 for the Lakers.
Those numbers are nice, but when a team is contending for an NBA Championship, they only matter in June. The Cavaliers pushed the lead to 22 in the third and still maintained a 19-point lead entering the fourth.
It started with a Jordan Clarkson three, then Bryant converted on a four-point play. And rightfully so. That being said, it’s not every day that a full-body portrait picturing Bryant standing midcourt at Staples Center holding Japanese samurai swords – they look a little short to be katanas, and could possibly be wakizashis – shows up, so, for this one time only, we’ll let it slide.
Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell got drilled in his groin area by a hard pass thrown by James in the fourth quarter. Cavs F Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds….
This isn’t the first time Bryant has gifted James a pair of shoes, however.
Bryant reiterated on Wednesday he didn’t consider James a rival because the two stars weren’t really in the same generation. The two were very cordial, with James speaking after the game that he felt Bryant deserved all the praise he was receiving from the National Basketball Association. “We speak, there is much more communication than people want to [believe]”.
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to the media during a press conference prior to the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on February 10, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.
And other Lakers players will stay in Los Angeles.
“(The Rockets) are not happy with him and I’m not happy with him either”, O’Neal said.
“So down on the other end Kobe gets me in the air, scores, and comes back down saying to (Brian) Shaw, ‘Check him for feathers, check him for feathers.’ So that was my first time having that moment with Kobe. Despite the highlight-type schoolyard play early on we’ve had some good games down the stretch and obviously that’s what we hope for”, said Marv Albert, who will call the game on TNT.
Advertisement
This is precisely why the debate that raged between fans over who was the better player never made sense. Kobe was someone that I just always kind of wanted to be like and play like. Last year, the East put three 50-win teams into the playoffs (with the Hawks winning an even 60).
