On Sunday night at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers claimed their first home win of the season behind Kobe Bryant putting on a masterful performance that saw the 37-year-old play 36 minutes and finish with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Andre Drummond finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Detroit Pistons in a losing effort.
Early in the game, Bryant's shot failed to hit the mark, as he only made one of his first four attempts. However, the experienced shooting guard found ways to affect the game. In particular, Bryant passed the ball with precision. By halftime, no. 24 already had six assists to go along with his seven points and four rebounds.
While a triple-double seemed far fetched even at the midway point, it did not seem impossible. At the tail end of the fourth quarter, the statistical achievement even seemed probable, but ultimately, the "Black Mamba" would come up one assist and two rebounds short of the feat. To his credit, he didn't seem all to bothered by that fact afterwards.
Instead, Bryant focused on the importance of getting the Lakers' first home victory and said losing another game in LA would have been "disastrous" since the team was win-less at Staples Center prior to Sunday night. According to the 20-year veteran, the victory allowed the young team to "get out of the starting blocks" and try to build momentum and salvage a season that started with eight losses over the first nine games.
After the game, Lakers coach Byron Scott confirmed that he decided not to push Bryant on the second night of a back-to-back during the game, and that decision played a major role in pushing Bryant to 36 minutes on Sunday night. The Lakers play in Phoenix on Monday, and Bryant is not traveling with the team.
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While Bryant only shot 6-19 from the field on the night, he played intelligent basketball and served as a "calming influence" on the Lakers' young players, according to his coach. The 20-year veteran had a +14 on the plus-minus statistic, which helped evaluate his effectiveness on the court.
After playing 11:52 seconds of the final period, Bryant came out to a hero's ovation with the Lakers leading by 11 points. While his "MVP" chants may have been a bit softer than they had been in years' past, Bryant did end up as the most valuable player for a night.
"Physically, as I stand here, I'm not looking forward to walking to my car right now--seriously," the 37-year-old admitted experiencing pain in his back and knees after the game, while he smiled behind a rare triumphant glow.
Also, everyone won tacos, which was a first for the 2015-16 Lakers.
Quote of the Night:
"I'm a realist...I don't really resist nature. I work with it. So, you work around it and figure out things that you can do and things that you can't do. And you try to be exceptional at the things you can do."
- Kobe Bryant
