Lakers 132, Jazz 102
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Kobe Show is
back.
Looking completely recovered from
offseason knee surgery, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 52 points
in the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-102 rout of the Utah Jazz on Thursday
night.
He made all nine shots from the floor and
was 10-for-10 at the foul line in his highest-scoring game since an
81-point outburst against Toronto on Jan. 22 last season. He had 30
points in the third quarter, tying his own team record set during a
62-point effort against Dallas on Dec. 20.
``I felt great. I felt explosive,'' Bryant
said. ``It's just about trusting my knee and trusting my legs. And
after tonight, I know I'm at that point right now where I feel like
I know it's going to be there.''
Coach Phil Jackson did something
completely out of character when Bryant left the court for the final
time: He gave the Lakers' star a high-five and hugged him.
``It's great to watch Kobe have a great
night like that, but I thought our defense stepped up, too,''
Jackson said.
Bryant, whose relationship with Jackson
has been rocky at times, said, ``We have such a great relationship.
And when I play, I play to please him. So if he stands up (on his
surgically repaired hip) and gives me a high-five, then I know I've
done my job.''
Bryant, who topped the 50-point plateau
for the 12th time in his career, made 11 shots in a row beginning
just before halftime and extending through the third quarter. He
finally missed when he drove and looped a shot that bounced off the
back of the rim with 7:44 left in the game, shortly after he had
returned to the floor with the Lakers up by 20.
Jackson said Bryant, who led the league in
scoring with a 35.4 average last season, looks as if he's almost
fully back in form.
``It's a combination of things he did
tonight,'' Jackson said. ``He used his explosiveness, maybe not as
dramatic as in the past, but there's still plenty of fire
there.''
With Bryant hitting from all over the
court, the Jazz began fouling him almost every time he was even
threatening to shoot.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan said he didn't
think there was anything the Jazz could have done.
``He caught the ball and got on a roll; he
just made whatever he caught,'' Sloan said. ``Players like that,
they get on a roll and I don't think there's much you can do.
``We had a guy in Milwaukee (Michael Redd
last Saturday) score 57 on us, and he got 52. We're having a
difficult time trying to guard that position.''
The Jazz still beat Redd and the Bucks
113-111.
Bryant finished 19-of-26 from the floor
and 12-of-15 from the line.
He missed the first two games this season
as he worked his way back from the surgery, and was averaging 24.1
points going in against Utah.
Led by Carlos Boozer's 26 points, seven
rebounds and five assists, Utah lost for the third time in the last
four games after starting the season 12-1. Deron Williams had 13
points and nine assists for the Jazz, whose 13-4 record remains the
league's best.
Lamar Odom had 14 points, 11 rebounds and
eight assists for the Lakers, and reserve Maurice Evans added 17
points.
Bryant's third-quarter outburst had the
fans chanting ``MVP!'' and gave the Lakers clear command with a
95-73 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. His 30 points were
three off the NBA record for a quarter set by San Antonio's George
Gervin in 1978.
After a tight first quarter, Bryant made a
pair of free throws to cap a 7-0 run for a 43-36 lead in the second
after the Jazz got stuck on 36 for more than 4 minutes, ending when
Andrei Kirilenko made one of two free throws 2:21 before
halftime.
Los Angeles outscored Utah 24-14 in the
quarter and was up 53-41 by halftime. Bryant scored 12
second-quarter points.
Notes: The Jazz beat the Lakers 114-108
Friday in Utah, outscoring them 32-20 in the fourth quarter,
including a 7-1 run to end it. Boozer had 31 points and 16 rebounds.
Bryant had 27 points in the loss, but just two in the final quarter.
... The teams meet just three times this season, only once in Los
Angeles. ... Utah had lost two in a row, to Golden State and
Orlando, before bouncing back to beat San Antonio on Wednesday. ...
The Staples Center crowd cheered Utah's Derek Fisher, a member of
three NBA champions with the Lakers, when he entered the game late
in the first quarter. |