Bryant scores 31 as Lakers beat Nuggets 111-107

I’m never going to forget that foul.

Despite hitting 31 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111-107 triumph over the Denver Nuggets, Kobe Bryant remains intent on retiring. Russell Westbrook scored 33 points while Kevin Durant added 24 points for the Thunder.

Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant is Denver’s National Basketball Association villain, and he deserves a proper farewell tour. There is no excuse.”TV: 9 p.m. ET, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles), Altitude (Denver)ABOUT THE LAKERS (4-23): Los Angeles forward Kobe Bryant (shoulder) is listed as probable after missing the Oklahoma City contest”. He had a baseline jumper blocked by the 6-foot-9 forward and went 0 for 4 from 3-point range – including an airball from in front of the Lakers’ bench.

Bryant was well supported by Jordan Clarkson, who dropped 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Lakers are still too raw. This also marked his fifth game in the last seven appearances he scored at least 20 points.

After struggling with his shooting accuracy for most of the season, Bryant offered some of his own special effects. On the megastar trend in National Basketball Association: I think there’s going to be a player in the next 10 years that’s going to rise above it all.

As impressive as that may sound, it is incredibly sad.

Wednesday’s game marked the first time Bryant faced Durant and the Thunder since he announced his plans to retire after the season back in November.

Not to be overlooked was a defense that shut down Denver in the second half after allowing 64 first-half points to a team without its leading scorer (Danilo Gallinari) and an exciting rookie (Emmanuel Mudiay).

Oklahoma City has won 12 of the last 15 meetings with the Lakers, with all three losses coming at Staples Center. The run at the end of the half was fueled by Westbrook, who had eight points and three assists in the second quarter alone.

The Lakers took a 42-39 lead in the second quarter, and it looked like the Lakers might have enough to hang around with the star-laden Thunder. Bryant sat out the first meeting between the teams, a 118-78 Thunder victory, on Saturday.

“I don’t want him to dunk no more”, Scott said, laughing.

Bryant has teamed with the Celebrities for Charity Foundation to raffle off two in-suite tickets for what will most likely amount to Bryant’s final game in Boston.

Indeed, Bryant has 427 30-point games in his legendary career, but playing at such a high rate has been a recent development in his 20th season. Bryant again begins the possession focused on Barton off the ball, but the younger guard is still able to leverage his superior speed to leave Kobe chasing him. The reality is that the Lakers aren’t going to suddenly start winning games this year: “You can train a cat all you want to bark; the damn cat’s not going to bark”.