Kobe Bryant’s Career ‘Epic,’ Says Kevin Durant

The Thunder have won seven in a row at home. After tearing his left Achilles tendon in April 2013, Bryant returned in eight months for six more games before needing season-ending surgery on his left knee.

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.

“We just had to stay focus and keep doing what we do every night”, Kanter said. Only 90 minutes before tipoff, Lakers rookie forward Anthony Brown learned he would start in place of Bryant and defend Durant.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant, left, drives around Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015.

Kevin Durant was stroking early on in the contest, and scored 14 points alone in the opening frame. His first came a little more than 3 minutes into the game to cap an 8-0 Thunder run.

The Thunder were up 35-15 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

The 37-year-old, who was part of the successful United States teams at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, is retiring after spending 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers. “We haven’t had a doctor or anybody look at him yet”, Lakers coach Byron Scott said.

“With life being as brutal as it is, we come to sport as an escape”.

“My body has been through a lot, physically, its been through a lot, and then on top of the fact that it is very easy to forget that I haven’t played because of it”, he said. He finished with four points on 2-of-9 shooting.

Big loss leaves even Magic Johnson nearly tweetless: The Los Angeles Lakers have been so bad, so boring, that even their most vocal supporter – and sometimes critic – has been pushed into silence.

Scott said he wasn’t sure whether the dunk against the Rockets is the reason Bryant’s shoulder is sore.

Lakers’ Kobe Bryant intrigued with LSU’s Ben Simmons: With the games becoming unwatchable, Lakers fans have played a new parlor game. Bryant, who managed to dunk in his last outing, referred to that moment as “personally gratifying” because it embodied his return from a series of major injuries that have hampered the twilight of the five-time champion’s career.

Bryant said he expects the megastar trend of the National Basketball Association to continue in the wake of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and himself, saying, “I think there’s going to be a player in the next 10 years that’s going to rise above it all”.

And as hard as it is for fans to remain patient, it’s even more difficult for the players.

“That’s a dream”, Durant said.

Garnett, now in his 21st season is the league’s longest tenured player who was drafted in the 1995 class.