Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant Falls In Penultimate Battle With Cavs

The Quicken Loans Arena cheered and chanted, but it wasn’t enough for the Black Mamba and the Los Angeles Lakers to walk-out victorious in the Kingdom of LeBron James

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Despite being dominated statistically, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to go on runs that kept them within striking distance. Most notably, cutting a 22-point lead to nine in the fourth quarter with a four-point play by Kobe Bryant.

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to answer in the final frame as later when Bryant made three clutch free throws only for J.R. Smith to respond with a three-pointer on the opposite end that put the lead back up to 11.

Ultimately, Cleveland’s firepower was too much for the Lakers to overcome.

Kyrie Irving led the way with 35 points. LeBron James followed with 29 and Tristan Thompson had 15.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, Lou Williams led the team with 28 while Jordan Clarkson had 22. D’Angelo Russell had 15 points off the bench.

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At the end of the first half, Kevin Love injured his left shoulder and went straight to the locker room. It is the same shoulder that he dislocated in the playoffs last year that ended his season. He did not come back to the game and while his injury was not reported as serious, no timetable was given for his return.

The third quarter saw a painful moment for Russell as an errant throw by James hit him in the “sensitive area” of the mid-section and took him out of the game for several minutes.

With the victory, James has now won 15 of 21 meetings with Bryant. The two were very cordial, with James speaking after the game that he felt Bryant deserved all the praise he was receiving from the NBA. He also shared a tender moment, saying that Bryant told him to send his greetings to his sons after the game.

Fans were treated to a spirited one-on-one as Bryant and James guarded each other full-court for the majority of the fourth quarter.

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The meeting was a passing of the torch of sorts. Bryant was already a three-time champion when James entered the league. Now, James is the established veteran in a league with young stars like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook. As Bryant took his last steps off the court, it was discussed how one day James will receive his own ovation from the league.

Bryant and James won’t have to wait long to see each other as both of them will be in Toronto for the All-Star Game this coming weekend.

The two will meet for the final time in March when the Cavaliers visit Los Angeles to play the Lakers.

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