Kobe Bryant’s injured wrist did not prevent the All-Star guard from lifting the LA Lakers to a 99-82 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday.
Skipping, spinning and grinning, Bryant unleashed his full arsenal of moves while scoring 13 of his 28 points in the third quarter despite playing through a right wrist injury.
Bryant also dished out a pair of game-clinching assists in the final quarter to give the Lakers their second win in a row following an 0-2 start to the season.
Photo: Reuters
Los Angeles also looked more comfortable with first-year coach Mike Brown’s game plan as they took control in the first quarter and never let go.
“Obviously, Kobe is Kobe,” Brown told reporters. “You can’t downplay what he does because he did everything for us.”
The Lakers held the Knicks to just 31 percent shooting and never allowed the visitors to settle. Los Angeles, with Pau Gasol scoring 16 and grabbing 10 rebounds, took a 63-51 halftime lead and New York got no closer than eight in the second half.
Photo: Reuters
“We’re growing as a team,” Lakers guard Steve Blake told reporters after finishing with 11 points. “Every day in practice, every game we grow more comfortable.”
New York’s Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 27 and Amar’e Stoudemire had 15, but made just 4 of 17 shots as the Knicks fell to 1-2.
“You have to be able to score,” New York coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We just weren’t able to make shots. We’re not moving the ball and not playing real well as a team right now.”
The Knicks did not defend particularly well either, allowing the Lakers to shoot 52 percent.
Tyson Chandler, signed in the off-season to bolster the Knicks’ defense, finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but his presence inside did not deter the Lakers.
Bryant showed signs of discomfort in his wrist at times as he flexed his hand during free throws and breaks in the action.
However, he was at his most entertaining in the third quarter where he recorded 13 points, including a 32-foot three-pointer that drew a foul and ended up a four-point play.
In the final few minutes of the game, Bryant found Blake and Matt Barnes for consecutive three-pointers to put the game away.
The Lakers are expected to welcome back center Andrew Bynum today against Denver after serving a suspension for a flagrant foul during last season’s playoffs.
THUNDER 104, MAVERICKS 102
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant’s buzzer-beating three-pointer lifted Oklahoma City to victory over Dallas that left the reigning champion Mavericks without a win in three games this season.
Durant finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka contributed 16 points apiece as the Thunder overcame 26 turnovers to improve to 4-0 in the lockout-shortened season.
Dallas, who defeated the Thunder in last season’s Western Conference Finals, fell to 0-3.
“We’re making some strides, we forced a lot of turnovers, but making progress and being the team you need to be are two different things,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Dirk Nowitzki, the MVP of the NBA finals as he led the Mavericks past Miami in the championship series in June, led Dallas with 29 points and 10 rebounds.
At times the Mavericks displayed the fluid offense that took them to their first league crown.
They erased a five-point deficit in the final minute, Nowitzki feeding Vince Carter for a three-pointer that gave Dallas a 102-101 lead with 1.4 seconds to play.
NBA scoring champion Durant had given Carter room at the top of the arc to make the shot, so he was especially pleased to have a chance to make up for that error.
After a timeout, Oklahoma City inbounded to Durant, who drained the winning shot.
“Kevin left Vince Carter so it was sort of redemption for him,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “That was a big play. Kevin is a playmaker and a shotmaker. He’s mentally as tough as they come.”
Brooks was unhappy with his team’s 26 turnovers, but pleased with their effort.
“Our guys played as hard as we can play,” he said. “Our tank is empty.”
ROCKETS 105, SPURS 85
In Houston, Texas, Kevin Martin scored 25 points to lead Houston to a comfortable win over San Antonio.
Luis Scola added 18 for the Rockets, who took advantage of the Spurs’ poor shooting at the start to build a big lead.
First-year Houston coach Kevin McHale was able to rest his starters in the fourth quarter, with his team playing the first of three games on consecutive nights.
DeJuan Blair scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for San Antonio, who shot 38 percent (35 of 93) and went 2 for 17 from three-point range.
MAGIC 94, NETS 78
In Orlando, Florida, Ryan Anderson scored 22 points for Orlando, who had little trouble shaking off New Jersey.
Dwight Howard had 16 points and 24 rebounds for the Magic, recording the 49th 20-rebound game of his career and coming within two of equaling his personal best.
Rookie forward MarShon Brooks led the Nets with 17 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 111, NUGGETS 102
In Portland, Oregon, Wesley Matthews had 25 points, including five three-pointers in the second half, as Portland defeated Denver to stay undefeated after three games this season.
Raymond Felton had 23 points, including a three-pointer with 1 minute, 45 seconds left as the Blazers pulled away from the Nuggets, who knotted the game 98-98 midway through the fourth quarter.
Portland led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the team were plagued by 25 turnovers.
Ty Lawson had 25 points and eight steals for the Nuggets, who lost their first game of the season.
BULLS 108, KINGS 98
In Sacramento, California, Derrick Rose had 19 points and eight assists as Chicago earned a victory over Sacramento.
The Bulls ran off 15 straight points early in the game and never trailed again in defeating the Kings, the NBA’s youngest team.
Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls.
Marcus Thornton had 20 points to lead Sacramento.
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