Kobe Bryant Has ‘Zero’ Thoughts About Rethinking Retirement After 31-Point Game

Kobe Bryant lines up against LeBron James.

“That’s the type of career you want to have when you come into this league”.

“It was a great test for me tonight to see if I could play both ends of the floor”, Bryant said. Shaquille O’Neal isn’t here.

What matters is the list.

Bryant’s days are stuffed with an ever-evolving and carefully curated series of treatments created to minimize injury and maximize performance, including submerging himself in icy water and lying on tables while an array of experts go to work. Kevin Durant – when he’s healthy, he’s electric. He said that he is not pushing to play on the US Olympic team in Rio, but it would, definitely, make for a “beautiful ending” to his storied 20-year career, according to Yahoo Sports.

The Grizzlies had five players score in double figures. Two of those swats came on Kobe in one possession, with the two friends sharing a laugh after the play. Considering he mentioned players who were infants during the Kennedy, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush administrations, it’s quite a wide swatch – a testimonial to Bryant’s longevity.

Nance, however, wrote that the Lakers bought in to Bryant’s comments. He also had five assists, including a behind-the-back pass in the third quarter that set up a 3-pointer by Lou Williams. He had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists, plus three blocks.

Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points in a 92-83 win over Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. “We had a tough time with them in that series”.

Bryant, now in his second season, was now outplaying future Hall of Famers like Clyde while coming off of the bench. We knew at some point they would start to rim out, and the legs would get to them on the second night of back-to-backs.

It could have been gamesmanship. Durant limited Bryant to 7-of-22 shooting.

This was Kobe in a weird place. The Los Angeles Lakers are averaging 96.6 points on 41.2 percent shooting and allowing 107.2 points on 46 percent shooting.

The Thunder improved to 20-9 on the season, while the Lakers dropped to 5-24 on the year.

Oklahoma City built a lead as large as 38 points, as it shot 53.7 percent, while holding the Lakers to 36.0 percent.

Bryant racked up 34 points to match New York’s Carmelo Anthony.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers appear to have become one of the most one-sided mismatches in the National Basketball Association.

But behind a resurgent Kobe, the Lakers made a run.

The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a very special NBA Christmas Day.

“You long son of a [gun]”, Bryant joked afterward.

In the first quarter, he converted a four-point play when he was fouled on a three-pointer and hit the free throw, drawing cheers. “That back and forth at that level is fun”.

Was the lack of recognition for Duncan, Garnett or D-Wade a thought-out swipe?

“The hardest thing [was] to stay with it, seriously”, he told reporters. “It’s a rough road, man. It’s attractive when you get there, but it’s a rough road”. They struggled on both ends, failing to match the Lakers defensively and turning the ball over offensively.