Bryant was coming off a season debut in which he admittedly struggled, scoring nine points on 2-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds, four assists and eight turnovers. Even though he was frustrated with his play, he was happy to be back.
With the Suns in town, it was "Blackout" night at Staples Center on Tuesday, and every fan was given a black t-shirt to wear at the game. Although, as Serena Winters points out, not everyone felt the need to put them on.
For the second straight game, the Lakers got off to a slow start with Bryant in the starting lineup, falling behind 10-3 in the opening minutes. However, they quickly came back, with Jodie Meeks going on a mini 5-0 run before Kobe got into the post, spun around his defender and elevated for a one-handed dunk.
It was Bryant's first dunk of the year and got the crowd on its feet early on, but the Lakers still trailed 26-21 after the first quarter, struggling to slow down the Suns offense.
The final three quarters continued in a similar fashion. Los Angeles fought its way back but were helpless to stop the Suns offense in crucial possessions.
The closest the Lakers came to taking the lead was in the third quarter, when a Jordan Hill basket cut the score to 73-72 with just over a minute left. However, the Suns responded with a 6-2 run to close out the quarter, scoring twice on easy layups, one of which came at the buzzer.
The Lakers again made a run in the fourth, but again failed to make the critical defensive stops, allowing the Suns to hold on for an eventual 114-108 victory.
As a team, Phoenix shot 51.8 percent in the game, with its backcourt tandem of Eric Bl...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
