LeBron stunned as 76ers down LA Lakers 103-91

Yes, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour landed in his hometown of Philadelphia…but unless you were REALLY paying attention, you probably missed the bigger story. The report said the team believes Scott is not responsible for the Lakers’ awful record (2-15) or the awful performance of Kobe Bryant in his final season.

The Sixers’ win also snaps a 29-game losing streak, the longest string of futility in any of the four major sports.

“I can’t script this up”, Bryant said after his first road game since Sunday’s announcement that he’ll retire after the season. For one night, in front of 20,510 people that gathered to cheer for Bryant, the streaks hardly mattered.

Sixers coach Brett Brown said it was “a true privilege” to be on hand for such an occasion, but he was focused more on his team and its victory. “We didn’t want this streak continuing”. Merely hours before the match began, he received a warm welcome from the fans in Philadelphia as soon as he entered the arena. It was emotional. I’m deeply appreciative. “It was really, really special”.

He touched his chest twice near his heart, then waved to the crowd as he walked off the court. And while Bryant would get off to a hot start, hitting three pointers on each of the Lakers first three possessions, he wound up shooting a sub-par 7-for-26 from the field.

However, the little scuffle appeared to get the Sixers fired up as they turned a five-point lead into a 14-point advantage into the fourth quarter.

Bryant added, “I sincerely appreciate the bad as much as I do the good, and hopefully the players coming up now understand that – understand that it’s a journey, it’s a cycle, you can’t take things personal”.

“I think stuff like that never hurts”, Brown said. He waved to the crowd and bowed his head in appreciation as a “Kobe!” The 76ers even put together a video tribute for him and had his old coach, Gregg Downer, and legendary Sixer Julius Irving present him with his Lower Merion High School jersey. A few pushes and shoves between the center and guard brought the Sixers’ JaKarr Sampson and Grant into the mix, garnering a few technical fouls. LaVine had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and center Gorgui Dieng had 11 points to go with seven boards off the bench.

Malone was the MVP of the 1982-83 NBA Finals, when he led the Sixers to a 12-1 playoff record and their only league championship in 48 years.