LeBron Gets 36 in 3-Point Barrage, Lakers Rout Spurs 129-102
Kuzma, the subject of numerous trade rumors with the deadline approaching, added 12 rebounds in one of his most impressive recent performances.
By Greg Beacham ••
NBCUniversal, Inc.
Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis discuss James’ hot shooting, moving forward after Kobe Bryant’s death, and their 129-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
LeBron James scored 19 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter while hitting five 3-pointers in an incredible three-minute span, propelling the Los Angeles Lakers to a 129-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
James added nine assists and seven rebounds, and he hit five of his six 3s in that decisive barrage. Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma had 18 points apiece as the Lakers beat San Antonio for the third time this season, sweeping the season series.
After the Spurs chipped into the Lakers' big lead late in the third quarter, James and Kuzma put the game away with a combined seven 3-pointers in 3 1/2 minutes to start the fourth. James' final 3 was a beauty while absorbing contact, earning him a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd.
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Two court-side seats were left open in memory of Kobe and Gianna Bryant at the first Lakers game since the father and daughter were killed in a helicopter crash.
Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Every seat at Staples Center was draped with a Bryant T-shirt during their first game since the Lakers legend’s death.
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Shahan Ahmed/NBCLA
Anthony Davis ahead of the Lakers’ first game since the death of franchise legend Kobe Bryant.
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Usher sings “Amazing Grace” ahead of the Lakers’ first game since the death of Kobe Bryant.
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LeBron James honored Kobe Bryant in front of thousands at Staples Center with a touching tribute.
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Fans pay respects to Kobe Bryant at a vigil outside Staples Center ahead of a tribute planned in honor of the basketball star and the eight other victims of a helicopter crash.
Shahan Ahmed
Fans pay respects to Kobe Bryant at a vigil outside Staples Center ahead of a tribute planned in honor of the basketball star and the eight other victims of a helicopter crash.
Kuzma, the subject of numerous trade rumors with the deadline approaching, added 12 rebounds in one of his most impressive recent performances.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his hometown for the Spurs, who have lost five of seven.
San Antonio was outrebounded 58-28 by the bigger Lakers. The Spurs grabbed only three rebounds in the fourth quarter while the Lakers went 16 of 24 from the field.
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Bryn Forbes added 13 points, but one night after the Spurs blew a late lead in a three-point loss to the Clippers, they returned to Staples Center and fell to 0-2 at the start of San Antonio's eight-game road trip while a rodeo occupies AT&T Center.
The Lakers returned to a semblance of normalcy at Staples Center in their first home game since their emotionally charged return last Friday for their first game following Kobe Bryant's death.
Eric Garcetti
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted this photo on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, of Los Angeles City Hall lit in purple and gold “in honor of Kobe Bryant’s storied championship career and in memory of Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and all who perished in today’s tragedy.”
Pacific Park via AP
This photo provided by Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier shows their Ferris wheel in Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold colors with Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 in honor of the former Lakers star who died with several others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Empire State Building is illuminated in gold and purple lights to honor the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in New York, United States, Jan. 28, 2020. Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter accident along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people.
NBCLA
The pylons at LAX are glowing in Lakers colors on a somber morning in Los Angeles Monday Jan. 27, 2020, a day after the death of Kobe Bryant.
AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo
Lights of purple and gold illuminate the pylons outside of LAX in remembrance of former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, following reports of his death in a helicopter crash in Southern California.
Madeline Kosmala
The InterContinental Hotel, the “tallest” building west of the Mississippi, displayed No. 24, Kobe Bryant’s jersey number, following his untimely death on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020.
Los Angeles County
The fountain at Grand Park LA lit up in purple and gold on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, in honor of Kobe Bryant.
Greg Bennett Jr.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Photo by James Devaney/Getty Images
Madison Square Garden pays tribute to Kobe Bryant during Brooklyn Nets v New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26, 2020, in New York City.
Madison Square Garden is lit up in Los Angeles Lakers colors in honor of former Laker great Kobe Bryant prior to the game between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets tonight at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26, 2020, in New York City.
Sergio Quintana
The Chase Center in San Francisco, home venue for the Golden State Warriors, displayed a photo of Kobe Bryant and lit up in purple and gold in honor of Kobe Bryant.
NBC 5 News
The Los Angeles Lakers colors — purple and gold — lit up the 7th Street Bridge in Fort Worth, Texas, as the nation remembered one of the NBA’s most iconic players on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020.
NBC 5 News
The Pier 1 Imports building in Fort Worth, Texas, paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, by illuminating the corporate building in Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold.
NBC Chicago
The United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls, paid homage to NBA legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, following the basketball legend’s untimely death.
Tim Bradbury/Getty Images
Escalators at TD Garden are lit up with Lakers purple to memorialize former NBA star Kobe Bryant on Jan. 27, 2020, in Boston, Massachusetts.
NBCLA
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles honored Kobe Bryant.
Ronak Patel
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple complex in Chino Hills, was illuminated in purple and gold to honor Kobe Bryant.
Catalina Island Company
The Catalina Island Company illuminated the iconic Casino with nine alternating purple and gold lights in remembrance of those who passed away in the Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash in Calabasas. Purple and gold represent the team colors of the Los Angeles Lakers, whose former star Kobe Bryant was among those lost. The nine lights pay tribute to the eight passengers and pilot, Ara Zobayan, who had deep Catalina connections, and made a significant impact on many residents and visitors during his frequent flights to the island.
Bryant's two retired jerseys still remain isolated in a spotlight on the wall high above the court, and the Lakers crowd broke into a spontaneous chant of “Kobe! Kobe!” in the third quarter, and the chant returned in the final seconds of the game.
TIP-INS
Spurs: They don't return home until Feb. 26. ... Dejounte Murray scored 12 points.
Lakers: JaVale McGee had 14 points. ... Dwight Howard had 12 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 5 for 5 in another strong all-around performance.
THINKING OF KOBE
Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave a stirring answer to a question about Bryant's place in the game. The U.S. Olympic team assistant coach said Bryant “was special to all of us in different ways. ... He was like a superhero who was actually human. There aren’t any superheroes that are really human, but we kind of thought of him as one of those kind of people, and so being such a shock.
"When somebody’s sick for a long time and you expect it, you deal with that. But when somebody is taken the way that he and his daughter and all the other people were taken, that makes it a tragedy and more painful in some ways.”
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.
