Another day, another milestone for Kobe Bryant as he once again asserted his will on the Toronto Raptors
On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Eastern Conference powerhouse Toronto Raptors that had the making of another blowout as Toronto had scored 100+ points in four of their last five games with a porous Laker defense awaiting them.
Little did anyone know, that the clock inside STAPLES Center would be turned back a few years, when a certain someone dropped 81 points on Toronto in the same building, wearing the same dazzling white uniform that gleamed under the arena lights.
While he didn’t score 81, a certain Laker icon wanted to make another statement at the expense of Canada’s finest, in his backyard.
You see, Kobe Bryant doesn’t buy into who the favorite is, he has the confidence that his Lakers team can win any contest. The Lakers ended up winning the game 129-125 in overtime with Bryant leading the way with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
Bryant on a night where Raptors star Demar DeRozen didn’t play, wanted to show the young star that he can still go and that he’s still as dangerous as he was in years past.
He also let fellow wunderkind Terrence Ross find out the hard way.
The Raptors (13-4) came in as the top dog in the East and saw the lowly Lakers as an opportunity to really flex their offensive muscle even without DeRozen.
Little did they know that it merely set the stage for Bryant, who was more than happy to deliver the goods to the Laker faithful in downtown Los Angeles.
It was a big night for Bryant, as not only did the Lakers close the game, something they haven’t done the last week, but he set yet another milestone.
Two actually.
At the age of 36, Bryant became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists game. The achievement bested Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird, who previously held the record at 35 years old in 1992.
Bryant now has 20 career triple doubles and last night became the first player in NBA history to record 30,000 points and 6,000 assists in a career.
Bryant has done it all year with his scoring, but he has been doing a better job of getting his teammates involved as of late. In the last ten games, Bryant is averaging 5.4 assists.
He still leads the league in scoring at 26.6 PPG and there is a realistic shot that he will finish leading the league with Kevin Durant missing a heavy portion of games and possibly not qualifying.
After coming off of a devastating injury last year, one might ask…
What more does he have to do or prove?
The answer is simple, there isn’t much.
But if I wanted to nitpick, it would be his efficiency. Bryant is currently shooting just over 39% from the field, 28% from three and 78% from the line. While it seems impossible for Bryant, a career 45 FG%, to continue this pace, he can surely improve his shot
selection.
The low FG% is likely impacted by his teammates relying on him to bail them out on offense.
Despite an ugly 4-13 record, the Lakers have played solid basketball in the past few weeks. Since Nick Young‘s (left) return the Lakers are 3-4. Three of the four losses were games they had a huge opportunity to win (Denver, Memphis and Minnesota) and their only stinker came in that 34-point laugher against the Dallas Mavericks.
Look for the Lakers to improve in the next few weeks with Young back and a fired up Bryant.
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