3 Thoughts: Lakers Win in Overtime Against Toronto
By Daniel Tran
20. 122. 81. Final. 129
1. Kobe Bryant took a trip down memory lane and played like it was 2009.
What is it about the Toronto Raptors that makes Bryant want to play at a MVP level? It seems like every time that team from the Great White North comes down, Kobe decides that he is in fact one of the greatest players ever and plays like it. Even though the Raptors came into the game the best team in the Eastern Conference with a 13-3 record, tonight was no different.
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Bryant put together a masterful performance against the Raptors, notching a triple-double with a 31-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist night. By the end of the night, Bryant became the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 career points and dish out more than 6,000 career assists. Though the game was hard fought, Bryant moved smoothly within the flow of the game and didn’t look like he was going 1 on 5. Tonight, he took what the defense gave him, got his teammates involved early and went for the kill late.
With so many minutes being logged on a 36 year-old body, the concern was that he didn’t have anything left to close out games. For tonight at least, Bryant dismissed those concerns. Bryant scored 15 points in the 4th quarter and overtime, shooting 5 of 11 from the field in those two periods and making good decisions with the ball. However, there is work to be done.
Free throw shooting remains a concern for Bryant. He shot a historically uncharacteristic 9 of 13 from the free throw line, including 3 for 5 in the final 2:17 of regulation to the end of the game. One wonders if Bryant’s body can keep up with his insatiable killer instinct at this age, but for at least this game, he showed that he can still get the job done.