The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs 102-106 in a game that was surprisingly close and went down to the wire.
After the Spurs honored Kobe Bryant with a tribute video prior to introductions, as Saturday night marked Bryant's final game in San Antonio. To start the game, Bryant made his first shot. However, the 20-year professional would miss his next four and offered a quiet four points in the first half. Instead, hometown kid Jordan Clarkson revved up his engine and scored 15 points before the intermission.
Riding Clarkson's back, the Lakers entered the halftime break only trailing by three points despite LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard combining for 27 points and Patty Mills adding another 11 points before the halftime break.
In the third quarter, though, Bryant conjured magic once again. After scoring 38 points against Minnesota and 27 points against New Orleans, Bryant poured in 16 points in the third quarter in San Antonio and eventually finished with 25 points on the night. Over the course of a minute and a half, Bryant hit back-to-back-to-back three pointers and had the crowd in a frenzy.
Thanks largely to the 37-year-old, the Lakers took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Early in the final period, Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell took charge and scored seven points to bring his overall tally to 12 points for the game. With Tarik Black active in the front court and Julius Randle banging the boards, the Lakers managed to hold a one-point lead with 5:58 to play in the ball game.
Bryant would return to the game, and though he made a three pointer to tie the game at 96-96, Bryant only hit one of six shots down the stretch. With Tim Duncan on the sideline in a suit and Manu Ginobili in the hospital due to an operation, Tony Parker coolly scored six crucial points in the final minutes, while Danny Green added nine points in the quarter.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
Aldridge led all scorers with 26 points, as the Spurs featured five players scoring in double figures. The Lakers also offered good balance and featured five different players scoring in double figures. However, the visitors' offensive execution failed down the stretch.
The Spurs maintained their unbeaten record of 28-0 at home, while the Lakers dropped to 11-42 overall on the season.
Notes: Julius Randle finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds to collect his 20th double-double of the season. The second-year came down on his ankle when he jumped to save a ball. Lakers center Roy Hibbert sprained his ankle in the first quarter and did not return to the game.
