Kobe Bryant Loses Final Game in Phoenix

On a Wednesday night in Arizona, Kobe Bryant laced up his shoes and played against the Phoenix Suns one last time.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the 37-year-old played in yet another road game that sounded an awful lot like the friendly confines of Staples Center, as fans of the Lakers and of Bryant filled the road arena, and even the home fans could not help but pay respect to the retiring superstar as he approaches the finish line of his historic career.

The Lakers lost the contest 119-107, but Bryant's farewell trumped and overshadowed the result of the game. Also, the loss provided the Lakers five games of separation from Phoenix in the standings, so LA has almost guaranteed the second worst record in the NBA, which is meaningful for fans nervous about the team keeping its first round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

"That was a real rivalry to me," Bryant would say about his back and forth with Phoenix over the years. "The Sacramento thing wasn't really because we beat them every time. Phoenix, they kicked our butts. We had to bounce back, overcome them, and that's a true rivalry."

On this night, the Suns honored one of their fiercest rivals with one of the most impressive in-arena tribute videos of the season. In the video, the Suns even showed Bryant hitting a game winning shot against the Suns in the 2006 NBA Playoffs. The video tribute concluded with a simple message: "Thanks Kobe."

Watching #SunsVsLakers at home? Here's the @kobebryant tribute that played during the timeout. #Respect #SunsVsKobehttps://t.co/eoAE6lZjOJ — #WeArePHX (@Suns) March 24, 2016

In his final 28 minutes against the Suns, no. 24 scored 17 points on 5/13 shooting with three rebounds and two assists. In a game that witnessed the Lakers leading by as many as 11 points in the first half, the final 24 minutes featured Phoenix's rookie Devin Booker outshining LA's young players.

Booker scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter as the Suns outscored LA 36-27 over those 12 minutes and went from as many as four points down to 14 points up in the quarter. Bryant spoke highly of Phoenix's shooting guard prior to taking the flight to Phoenix, and the 37-year-old saw a bit of himself in the 19-year-old shooting guard out of Kentucky.

"Playing against Booker tonight, he went straight to my move the first time he caught it," Bryant said after the game. "You're not going to beat me on my move, man! You know. But it was great to see. It was absolutely great to see because I did the same thing with [Michael Jordan]."

Like Bryant, Booker was drafted in the no. 13 spot, and both players entered the league as 6-foot 6-inch shooting guards. Bryant went so far as to give his autographed shoes to Phoenix's rookie with a handwritten message, "To Book, Be Legendary."

"To Book, Be Legendary" - @kobebryant 's message on the signed shoes he gave to @DevinBook #SunsVsLakers pic.twitter.com/1Huakjtk6B — Suns Basketball Comm (@SunsBballComm) March 24, 2016

With a smile, Bryant pointed out that Booker had not even been born when the 37-year-old played his first NBA game. However, Bryant took pride in passing on his mentality to the younger generation and said he offered his guidance if the kid ever felt like reaching out. Also, Bryant praised Booker's "attitude," "footwork," "competitive spirit" and "fundamentals" when analyzing the rookie's game from a scouting standpoint.

Bryant concluded about Booker, "The skills are there."

With the loss, LA fell to 15-56, while Phoenix improved to 20-51 on the season.

Next, the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night at Staples Center, as only 11 games remain in Bryant's 20-year career.

Notes: The Lakers only managed 13 assists compared to 31 assists for the Suns, as lack of ball movement again doomed the purple and gold. Julius Randle recorded his 31st double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds. D'Angelo Russell played 31 minutes and shot 6-18 with 14 points, three assists and two turnovers.

All quotes via Time Warner Cable SportsNet