This game will certainly be one of those games you tell your grandchildren about. It's 9:04 AM in the West Coast, in the Bay Area and I'm still hyped after watching this game and covering this game with you guys on the blog. The Bay Area is hyped for another thing though. The Warriors breaking the '95-96 Bulls' record and setting the mark at 73-9 and kudos to them, Last night was hands down the best night for basketball fans regardless of which game you watched. Last night was special for me as a Laker fan as Kobe rode into the sunset, guns blazing, and willing the Lakers to one last victory. The NBA put this video together as noted above this post of every field goal Kobe made and the last two free throws to put him at 60 points in the Lakers' 96-101 win over the Utah Jazz. The funny thing is I remember when Kobe became the youngest player to reach 30,000 points, his first points were from the free throw line and it all came full circle last night that his last points in the NBA would be again from the free throw line. Like I said, a fitting end to an illustrious 20-year career.
Showing posts with label KB24. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KB24. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Goin' Out Mamba Style: Kobe Scores 60, Notches Win in Final Career Game vs. Utah
Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Utah Jazz, the final game of Kobe Bryant in his 20 year career where Kobe goes out in style, the only way that Kobe know when to go out. Kobe went out guns blazing, putting up one more 60 point game and rallying the Lakers to a 96-101 win.
There are so many adjectives to describe this finale: amazing, awesome, fantastic, legendary, unbelievable. I said it during the season, Kobe Bryant was not the same player as he once was, but you can't deny the competitive drive and the will to win. The heart of a champion was still beating (a reference to my old Kobe vignette) and Kobe delivered one final performance for the ages. 60 points, hitting the go-ahead jumper for the Lakers to get the win against the Jazz who were already eliminated from playoff contention with Houston's win today, but they still competed their butts off. Hats off to them. But you can't write a better ending than this.
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Kobe Bryant, 60 points, 22-50 shooting. Are you kidding me? 37 years old. A major achilles injury, multiple knee and shoulder injuries throughout the season at the twilight of his career. He struggled all season long and he puts up this kind of performance in his final game! As a longtime Laker fan, we know Kobe is capable to pull off a performance like this, but at 37 years old! I guess Father Time allowed him to go off for this one game. Every shot Kobe put up, I was on my feet like I was a kid/teenager during his prime and during the championship years. Yes he started slow, yes he missed a lot of shots, but he single-handedly got this team to a victory. His arsenal was on full display, blowing by defenders, hitting impossible shots, hitting impossible three pointers, something Kobe did night in and night out during his prime. Awesome, vintage performance from the Black Mamba! And I enjoyed every moment of it.
Jordan Clarkson, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6-10 shooting. I emphasized this on my halftime post that the Lakers' young players have to find a way to get involved. This storybook ending wouldn't have been possible without guys like Clarkson, who has been the overall constant among the young three of the Lakers. Clarkson made a couple of big buckets, clutch rebounds to give the Lakers and Kobe Bryant a shot at a victory. That and he honored Kobe with a 360 dunk of his own in the third quarter. Props to Clarkson for answering the bell.
Larry Nance, Jr., 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3-3 shooting. I've always looked at Nance as a high energy guy for the Lakers off the bench. When he gets involved, the Lakers get a spark. Nance displayed a couple of highlight dunks to rile up the Staples Center crowd and give the Lakers new life and he hustled his butt off out there to get to the ball. Solid play from Nance.
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I am going to let the negatives fly. Despite how bad the Lakers started off this game and how they were down for the most part, getting the win for Kobe was all that matters. If they did lose, of course there would've been negatives to note out. But, I'll let this pass.
Conclusion
For the Lakers, this season has been atrocious from the start, but us Laker fans were rewarded at the end to see Kobe Bryant have the game of his life one more time. His performance tonight brought us nostalgia. It brought us happiness, joy, and at the same time, tears that he's going to be gone next season. I've had a lot of memories of Kobe from my childhood to my teenage years and now to my adulthood. I've witnessed him rally the Lakers to a victory in game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals without Shaq on the floor, drop 81 points against the Raptors, nail a game winner against the Phoenix Suns during the 1st round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, drop 61 points at MSG, nail a 3-pointer in J.R. Smith's face in front of a hostile Denver crowd during the '09 Western Conference Finals, hit a total of 6 game winners during the '09-10 season, hit two free throws despite a ruptured achilles against the Warriors, and most of all, I've witnessed him help deliver 5 championships to the Lakers. He's added one more performance to my memories and I'll look back at this game for a long time. Thank You Kobe Bryant for giving me a lot of memories as a Laker fan. Someday, numbers 8 and 24 will be hung from the rafters and Staples Center will unveil a statue of you doing one of your most disrespectful poster dunks on another player (it could be Dwight). As tough as it was to see you play the last couple of seasons since the awful achilles injury, whether we've watched you live or on TV, there's no doubt that I and the rest of Laker Nation have enjoyed every single moment of you being on the court whether it's at Staples Center or on the road.
Thank You!
What are your memories of Kobe Bryant's 20-year career? Share in the comments below. A Season in Review post for the Lakers' 2015-16 season will be posted up sometime this week or next week depending on my schedule. I'll see you guys later.
Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!
04/13: Farewell Kobe LAKERS vs. Utah Jazz Q-by-Q Reaction
UTA 96 LAL 101
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.
LAKERS-Jazz Halftime Post
UTA 57 LAL 42
Welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup and Kobe Bryant's final game vs. the Utah Jazz where
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Kobe Bryant, 22 points, 7-19 shooting. It's his farewell game and deservedly so, Kobe has the spotlight in this. However, the first quarter the Lakers started 0-7 and Kobe accounted for 4 of those first 7 shots. The haters like that, but then Kobe Bryant started to heat up in the mid-quarter, putting up a vintage sequence down the stretch, hitting five shots, one from deep (3 points). He's also blowing by defenders, which is impossible for a normal 37 year old coming off from an achilles injury three years ago. Overall, I thought the Laker offense came alive once Kobe got it going after an 0-4 start from the field.
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The supporting cast. I said it in the Q-by-Q reaction in my 2nd quarter post, it's understandable that they're giving Kobe the ball to delight the Staples Center crowd, but they have to find a way to step up. Julius Randle, 2 points, D'Angelo Russell 4 points, and Jordan Clarkson 4 points. The future of the Lakers hinges on these three and it's starting off like a repeat the last time they played the Jazz when the Jazz blew them out in Utah a few games back.
Bottom Line
The adjustments are self-explanatory. The other thing I forgot to note out is that they held Rodney Hood to 2 points. Last time, they let Hood burn them for 30 in a half and they've done a good job keeping him in check. But, the Jazz are playing team ball. The Laker young guns have to find a way to make this game about them even though this about Kobe playing his final game. They have to get involved. Even if Kobe is having his way with his vintage performance in the first half, we don't know how long that will last and that should urge the other players to find their game. We'll see how the final chapter unfolds.
Welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup and Kobe Bryant's final game vs. the Utah Jazz where
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Kobe Bryant, 22 points, 7-19 shooting. It's his farewell game and deservedly so, Kobe has the spotlight in this. However, the first quarter the Lakers started 0-7 and Kobe accounted for 4 of those first 7 shots. The haters like that, but then Kobe Bryant started to heat up in the mid-quarter, putting up a vintage sequence down the stretch, hitting five shots, one from deep (3 points). He's also blowing by defenders, which is impossible for a normal 37 year old coming off from an achilles injury three years ago. Overall, I thought the Laker offense came alive once Kobe got it going after an 0-4 start from the field.
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The supporting cast. I said it in the Q-by-Q reaction in my 2nd quarter post, it's understandable that they're giving Kobe the ball to delight the Staples Center crowd, but they have to find a way to step up. Julius Randle, 2 points, D'Angelo Russell 4 points, and Jordan Clarkson 4 points. The future of the Lakers hinges on these three and it's starting off like a repeat the last time they played the Jazz when the Jazz blew them out in Utah a few games back.
Bottom Line
The adjustments are self-explanatory. The other thing I forgot to note out is that they held Rodney Hood to 2 points. Last time, they let Hood burn them for 30 in a half and they've done a good job keeping him in check. But, the Jazz are playing team ball. The Laker young guns have to find a way to make this game about them even though this about Kobe playing his final game. They have to get involved. Even if Kobe is having his way with his vintage performance in the first half, we don't know how long that will last and that should urge the other players to find their game. We'll see how the final chapter unfolds.
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