Kobe Bryant Doesn’t Envision Himself Playing Overseas Next Year

James Harden and Dwight Howard produced double-doubles and the Houston Rockets recorded their fourth consecutive win over the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-97, at Toyota Center.

He created time Friday night to dine with Durant, a photo of them quickly circulating on social media.

Kobe Bryant may not have made the difference.

But when it was announced an hour before that game that Bryant would be sitting out with a sore shoulder, that took a little of steam out of facing the struggling Los Angeles squad. Randle was a solidly productive post player as a starter, averaging a near double-double with 11.7 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 43 percent from the field and adding two assists a game.

Ibaka had 12 points, Adams and Morrow had 10 apiece, Dion Waiters had 11 points, and Enes Kanter had 19 points and 14 boards off the bench.

The Thunder dropped the hammer again, and again, and again on the Lakers.

The Lakers’ point total was their second-lowest this season and the lowest by an Oklahoma City opponent since the Thunder beat the Miami Heat 93-75 on March 22. Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 15 points as L.A. dropped to 4-23.

“We just tried to make the right play every time down and defensively, we just tried to cover for each other”, Durant said. G Anthony Brown started in place of Bryant. Bryant missed Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but is expected to play on Tuesday when the Lakers face the Denver Nuggets.

Kevin Durant was stroking early on in the contest, and scored 14 points alone in the opening frame.

The Thunder began brilliantly, riding the momentum of a Russell Westbrook to Adams alley-oop and a two-handed flush by Westbrook after a steal to knock up a 20-point advantage by the end of the first quarter. T-Jones kept the Rockets in the lead during the third quarter when the Lakers tried to make a late game push. “These guys looked like they were scared or intimidated by Durant and ( Russell) Westbrook”.

Then, he proposed a solution to Bryant: “Hey man, you’ve got to pay my tech on that one”. Scott added of his players, “They didn’t play well at all and really just got embarrassed by the way we played tonight”.

The great National Basketball Association players love the process of training and preparing for games more than actually winning and that desire can’t be taught, the 37-year-old said. “Come out ready and focus on what we need to focus on and do our job”. “If they did, we’d be the first team in history with a bunch of 20-year-olds that would have gotten it before anybody else”.

“Top 5 teams that I’ve faced”, Bryant started his answer, without specifying whether the rank would be in order or not, “I’d probably say the San Antonio Spurs were always tough”.

“They want to get a glimpse of greatness”, Scott said.

“I think the most important thing, the most lovely thing is how does your legacy impact the generation of players to come and the generation of players now playing”.