Not all Celtics fans hate Kobe, but none of them like him.
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And it’s been driven by their diehard fan bases, which provide an extraordinary atmosphere when these two teams clash.
The parquet given to Bryant was from the team’s original parquet floor, which was officially retired in 1999, several seasons after it was moved from the original Garden upon its closure to the current arena.
The five-time National Basketball Association champion said that the slight he received from Cowens, a former Boston Celtics star player, helped fuel his winning desire. She was mad. I showed her the video of us losing to the Celtics and me walking off the court crying. “Even if it could be my last time there, …I try to just honor everything I’ve been doing throughout my career”. Then I got to Kobe Bryant. They treated him to the big ovation when he was introduced but then booed every time he touched the ball.
The mixed reception made for a odd, yet enjoyable atmosphere. This game is going to be nothing more than a confidence booster for one team. “No, no, son, you watch me and if I’m cheering, that’s when you can cheer too”. Kobe Bryant has done a lot for the game and will always be remembered as one of the greats. His struggling Lakers had earned a rare win, holding off a late Celtics charge. “It’s more so being thankful of everybody that was a part of this entire journey, good, bad, or indifferent”.
“One thing we can all trust as sports fans is, you can trust the sports gods to line these teams up again”. John Wall added 19 points and 11 assists.
“It was unbelievable”, Bryant said.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points for the Hornets (17-14), who will be without centre Al Jefferson for at least six weeks following arthroscopic right knee surgery.
Turner’s ability to step up in a meaningful game was no surprise to C’s coach Brad Stevens.
“We have given each other/All that we have”, the Lakers superstar wrote in the Players’ Tribune, shortly before divulging his plan to fade away before our very eyes in a season-long retirement tour.
Celtics fans, though, weren’t done with him. Which leads us here-these are the five greatest Lakers moments in the rivalry with the Celtics.
It was his final stamp in the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, and it was in impressionable one. The crowd chanted “Kobe!”
“I grew up a really big historian of the game”, Bryant said. “So I don’t think they really understand how much they meant to my career”.
Certainly, this wasn’t the same Bryant, but there seemed to be a concerted effort by Crowder and the Celtics not to get lost in the euphoria of Bryant’s last visit.
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Kobe Bryant actually had a double-double in this one, despite not being much of a rebounder. Since tearing his Achilles near the end of the 2012-13 season, Kobe has been a sub-replacement level player.
