04/13: Farewell Kobe LAKERS vs. Utah Jazz Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

UTA 96 LAL 101

Allow me to clear my throat for a bit...KOBE!!!!!!!!!! You cannot write a storybook ending to an illustrious career better than this! 60 points, the most scored by any NBA player this season and a win to go out on top. That 60 points though, who else to do it by the Black Mamba! He's done it before and for the first time in a long time, he's done it again! He also showed that clutch ability too, hitting the go ahead jump shot in the final minute to pretty much seal the deal for the Lakers. Laker Nation, I am going to remember this performance for a long time. A fitting end to a great career. Thank you Kobe! Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

UTA 75 LAL 66

37 points and counting for Kobe Bryant! The good news is that the Lakers are still in this game. I said in my halftime post, I thought the rest of the team was kind of hesitant in the first half to take a shot and resorting to Kobe to take those shots since it's his final game. They woke up a little bit this quarter. Jordan Clarkson pulled a little Kobe move with a 360 dunk on the break during the quarter. D'Angelo found his shot a little bit. Small steps, but Kobe is continuing to turn back the clock in his final game. One more quarter.

Q2:

UTA 57 LAL 42

It's understandable that it's Kobe's last game and they're giving him every shot that he gets, but the young guns of the Lakers need to find a way to step up their game. The only time they showed up was when Kobe created a turnover in the final minute, passed to Russell, and Russell passed it to Randle for the easy dunk. The players have to find a way to get themselves in this game. More to come in the halftime report.

Q1:

UTA 21 LAL 19

Talk about a tale of two halves this quarter. Both teams could not buy a bucket. The Lakers started 0-7 from the field. Kobe looked like he had some early jitters, starting 0-4, but man did he turn back the clock mid-quarter with a couple of jump shots, 3 pointers. Byron Scott let him play the full quarter. Let's see how many minutes he play the next quarter. Lakers managed to capture the lead briefly, but Utah came storming back for a two point lead.