The Black Mamba strikes again!
Just when everyone thought that Kobe Bryant was going to start to cool off, the two-time NBA Finals MVP light up the scoreboard by scoring 42 points (15-for-31 shooting) against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at the Staples in Los Angeles. With yet another amazing scoring performance in the books, Kobe has now scored 40 or more points in the last three games and there doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down with the killer instinct of old coming back to life.
Now that new Lakers head coach Mike Brown has given Kobe Bryant the green light to fire whenever possible, the five-time NBA champion isn’t pulling any punches and looks more like the Kobe that used to wear #8 opposed to the current #24. Needless to say, whatever magic potion or motivation is driving the Black Mamba is working and the Los Angeles Lakers are reaping the benefits with five wins in a row (9-4 record).
Not only did Kobe Bryant get going again in this win against Mike Brown’s former team, but three other starters got in on the action as well with Andrew Bynum (15), Pau Gasol (19) and Matt Barnes (15) scoring 15 or more points. Derek Fisher only added two points in the scoring column, but his contribution came from getting his teammates involved with a game-high 10 assists.
Despite the impressive play of all five starters, the Lakers bench was just awful tonight with a combined point total of four. The leading scorer off the bench was rookie point guard Darius Morris with three points in 18 minutes on the floor. Metta World Peace didn’t play a single minute in this contest which has some people talking about a possible injury or the controversial forward being in the coach’s dog house.
As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, rookie and number one overall pick Kyrie Irving led the way with a team-high 21 points. The rookie out of Duke played surprisingly well with some impressive moves to the hoop and an Allen Iverson-like ability to finish at the rim. Backup point guard Ramon Sessions was the next in line in the scoring department with 12 points off the bench.
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to have the Cleveland Cavaliers beat heading into the fourth quarter, the Cavs made a spirited comeback by cutting the Lakers sizeable 19-point lead to just two. Despite the valiant effort by Kyrie Irving and company, Kobe Bryant was just too much to handle as the Black Mamba put the nail in the coffin late in the fourth, 97-92.
Next Lakers Game: Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Lakers Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 7:30 p.m. PST
Follow the Los Angeles Lakers Examiner on Twitter: @Lakers_Examiner
Comments