Jordan Honors Bryant, Hornets Sting Lakers

Michael Jordan paid tribute to Kobe Bryant and his career with a video message prior to the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, Bryant’s last game in Charlotte. Rookie D’Angelo Russell is still coming off the bench and went for 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting Friday.ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (16-16): Memphis coach Dave Joerger continues to bring power forward Zach Randolph off the bench but is increasing his minutes. His field-goal percentage of 34.7 and 3-point percentage of 25.6 are the NBA’s worst marks.

Harper met Bryant, nicknamed the “Black Mamba, ” prior to Monday night’s Lakers-Hornets game at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte. While Walker heated up, Bryant – who sat an extended period of the second half – couldn’t find rhythm, going just 1-of-10 in the final 24 minutes. Midway through the fourth, the Hornets started to pull away and they grabbed the double-digit advantage, 102-92 with less than two minutes to go in the game. Shooting guard Nicolas Batum enjoyed a solid all-around game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while Walker scored a game-high 22 points.

The Lakers (5-27) have lost four straight, six of seven, and 12 of their past 14. I wish you the best, and have a great game tonight – not too good of a game. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, but had a key turnover before getting called for a five-second violation when Chicago had a chance to tie in the final seconds.

The Clippers trimmed the lead to four three more times in the quarter on a dunk and a layup from Jordan and two free throws from Paul that made it 51-47 with 1:04 remaining before halftime. He was actually drafted by the Hornets in 1996 and traded to the Lakers for C Vlade Divac….

Bryant played only the first and third quarters and scored 19 points, making 2 of 8 3-pointers. Which, considering the lack of reliable depth the team have had while the second unit have struggled, is a major concern. The Lakers opened a brief three-game road trip with a 112-96 loss at Memphis Sunday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics meet early Wednesday night at the TD Garden. It is the first time he has missed any games due to injuries this season. The Hornets have six comeback wins from deficits of 10 or more points this season.

Now, the sad part about this is that just last season, these two teams combined to make one of the better color-on-color matchups that you’ll see in this league.

That was … an offensive awakening: Whether it was due to the second night of a back-to-back or the absence of one Blake Griffin, the Clippers only scored 18 points in the first quarter and it looked like it might be one of those nights for the road team.