It was a vintage Kobe Bryant performance after scoring 25 points in a 9-of-16 shooting, but it still fell short and the Los Angeles Lakers still lost to the Houston Rockets.
As reported by NBA.com, it was arguably Kobe's most efficient game this season; however, the five-time champion did not play at the last period as they were already down by 21 in their 126-97 loss to the Rockets.
A victory in the finale of Los Angeles' two-week road trip fell out of reach once the bench started filing in to replace the starters.
Although it should be noted that despite being dominated by the opposing team, the Lakers did lead one time during the late first quarter with 25-21. But from there onwards, the Rockets obliterated them for a 30-4 run over the next eight minutes.
During that horrible stretch, the team went just 1-of-10 from the field, while also turning the ball over eight times.
Head coach Byron Scott said, "I thought our first unit was doing a good job," and added that, "I thought our second unit was terrible. They came in and all the momentum kind of shifted. They didn't come in with the same type of energy and the same type of purpose."
And he's right because L.A's bench gave a disappointing performance by shooting just 10-of-30 while being outscored by Houston's bench, 55-27.
But one good takeaway from this loss is that finally and little by little, Kobe's game is steadily improving as he even got a nice steal against his former teammate-turned-rival Dwight Howard.
As reported by For The Win, after rebounding the ball, Dwight quickly threw it to his team mate only for Kobe to intercept the pass, which led to a nice clean three point shot.
The Black Mamba said, "I feel like my legs are finally starting to catch up. Better late than never. It's like my rhythm's starting to come back a little bit, legs are moving well."
In a related report by Lakers Nation, James Harden of the Rockets showed his appreciation for Kobe's influence and admitted that as a kid and being a Los Angeles native, he idolized the Laker.
He said, "Man, I've admired him since I was growing up."
"Being a Laker fan and watching him, all the achievements and things that he accomplished, and how much of a warrior he is. The Kobe Bryant era is over. Obviously we all knew it was going to happen sometime, but for it to be here, it's sad."
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