Spurs cruise past Lakers at home

Patty Mills was fantastic off the bench, with 13 points and three triples that helped the Spurs maintain a lead for most of the second. The Rockets would go on to beat the Lakers easily, but the story of the night was the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

Bryant has not looked like his old self very much this season, but for a good chunk of the game, Byrant was outstanding.

Remember the classic battles the Spurs had with the Los Angeles Lakers when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were winning championships together?

The Spurs, like the Laker, s are a historic franchise in the National Basketball Association. Guard Marcus Thornton paced the reserves with 18 points as Houston (12-12) totaled 55 bench points and won for the seventh time in nine games to lift its record back to.500.

They didn’t hate each other like Bryant and. “We’ve had some epic battles”.

San Antonio led by 17 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Bryant tapped his chest and pointed to the crowd, acknowledging the cheers and chants of “Kobe” as he walked off the court.

Bryant’s retirement overshadows the season and could easily be a distraction.

Despite his success in San Antonio, Bryant is extremely popular in the city and a large contingent of fans came to see what could be his penultimate appearance at the AT&T Center.

Russell had his moments, although he did miss a shot which could have given the Lakers the lead in that 123-122 overtime loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Many of Bryant’s teammates say they also understand the historic element to these final games alongside him.

Aldridge was aggressive from the get-go, nailing his first four shots and finishing the first quarter with 14 points. He made only one more field goal while being closely guarded by Leonard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and athletic 6-foot-6 rookie Jonathon Simmons. While others were getting up shots, the retiring Bryant was getting his body stretched and worked on so that he could leave a positive, lasting impression on those who will probably never see him play live again.

LaMarcus Aldridge spent the first several weeks of his first season with a new team trying to assimilate.

Aldridge fed a cutting Manu Ginobili for a reverse layup, and Ginobili returned the favor on the following possession, lobbing the ball into Aldridge for a layup. They kept things close in the first quarter, with Kobe Bryant starting off hot and Russell doing a little bit of everything on offense, but couldn’t keep up through the second half.

Mills finished with 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Los Angeles G Jordan Clarkson (ankle) sat out against the Spurs and is unlikely to play Saturday.3.

The Houston Rockets are certainly not where they want to be yet.

The Lakers came out hot but barely had a spark left to spare by the end of the game. He could not test his skill against an established point guard, as the Spurs rested point guard Tony Parker.