Kobe Bryant’s final Christmas as a Laker

Bryant, who equaled a season-high with 31 points Tuesday night in the Lakers’ 111-107 victory at Denver, played on consecutive nights for the fourth time this season and finished with 19 points on 7 of 22 shooting in 27 minutes.

“Not even an inkling”. Kobe Bryant, in his swan song season for the Los Angeles Lakers, is the early leader in voting for the 2016 NBA All-Star game, the NBA announced yesterday. Bryant performed three pump fakes before causing Durant to bite on a baseline jumper, allowing Bryant to convert on a three-point play. “Man, I wanted to play so bad tonight, and I came this close”, he said, holding two fingers close together.

Small forward Kevin Durant is adjusting well to the offensive tactics of first-year coach Billy Donovan and has scored 20 or more points in each of the past 14 games.

It’s not pretty, and not what many of us want to see, but it’s remarkable to see that Bryant’s greatness can transcend all of that. “It’s like ‘C’mon. Damn, seriously?’ [They’d say], ‘It looked like you were going to shoot.’ I said, ‘No s–“.

Being the most notorious workhorse in an earn-it-or-lose-it league, Bryant’s emergence from the shadows and the sidelines is proof that there’s still plenty to be optimistic about in Los Angeles.

Kevin Durant had 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Andre Roberson scored a career high 15 poits and added 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. That hasn’t gone well lately, the Clippers sweeping the Lakers last season while simultaneously hosting in-game dunk contests.

Despite the effort and Bryant thriving as of late, the Lakers are still stuck at the last spot in the Western Conference standings with a 5-24 record.

He had five days to rest his sore right shoulder and didn’t do much physically because it was painful, he said. He had a behind-the-back pass in the third quarter that set up a 3-pointer by Lou Williams. In an example of effort not always directly translating to effectiveness, Barton responded with a crossover dribble that lead to him easily leaving Bryant in the dust and forced to (probably) foul Barton in an infraction that went uncalled. But I just can’t cut really quickly right now.

Bryant said he knew Wednesday was going to be fun before it began, specifically because he’d be facing Durant. And that is the issue, but the Lakers are not doing anything about it, because he is one of the all-time greatest players in their franchise’s history. To hear Kobe just kind of go into stories and show his personality and be goofy a little bit, it’s nearly uncomfortable because we’re not used to seeing that.