National Basketball Association roundup: Thunder rout Kobe Bryant-less Lakers

The Thunder began brilliantly, riding the momentum of a Russell Westbrook to Adams alley-oop and a two-handed flush by Westbrook after a steal to knock up a 20-point advantage by the end of the first quarter.

Bryant is the NBA’s highest-paid player this season with a $25 million salary bestowed on him by grateful Lakers owner Jim Buss despite his recent injury problems.

“Kobe’s fearless”, Scott said.

Bryant already has received long ovations on road trips this season, particularly in places like NY and Miami where crowds sensed that they might be seeing him as an opponent for the final time. We didn’t come to compete.

Bryant ranked the top five toughest teams he has played: San Antonio and Sacramento in the National Basketball Association playoffs, Boston in the Lakers’ 2008 Finals loss, Detroit in the Lakers’ 2004 Finals loss and the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls teams.

“The injuries that I’ve had, I’ve always been able to look at those from a positive light and learn from those things”, Bryant said.

Lakers: Scott coached the then-New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) during their two-season stay in Oklahoma City (2005-06 and 2006-07) and said he has fond memories of that time…. Bryant’s lone appearance in the teams’ past six matchups came a year ago to the day of this one, scoring nine points on 3-of-15 shooting and missing a jumper at the buzzer in a 104-103 defeat. He finished with 12 points and five assists.

After the Los Angeles Lakers suffered the sixth-worst loss in team history Saturday, falling 118-78 to the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena, coach Byron Scott said his players were “scared” and “in awe” of Oklahoma City. The Thunder wore their alternate sleeved jerseys. Unfortunately for those who dished out the big bucks for a seat, Bryant was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup due to a sore shoulder.

“I’ve been very fortunate to play in so many All-Star games”, Bryant said.

Playing in his 20th season, Bryant, 37, pointed out that he had “pretty heavy-duty” surgery on that same shoulder after tearing his right rotator cuff in late January during a dunk against the New Orleans Pelicans. But he doesn’t think it will be a long-term problem and expects to play on Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets.

“This is kind of a new chapter”, he said after practice on Saturday. “I’ve just got to get ahead of it, just rest it and come back”.

Bryant warmed up for Sunday’s game amidst even more than the usual swarm of camera phones and flashes surrounding the court. Since Howard made a decision to leave LA for Houston via free agency in 2013, the Lakers have been spinning their wheels trying to bring in top players to surround Bryant with.