With two of the NBA’s all-time greats sharing the floor for the final time, Thursday’s matchup in Tinseltown was worthy of its historic weight.
In his last career meeting against LeBron James and the Cavaliers, Kobe Bryant emptied both barrels – going toe-to-toe with his Eastern Conference adversary and almost singlehandedly keeping his young Lakers in the contest until he left to a standing ovation with just over two minutes to play.
When the smoke cleared, the Cavaliers (46-18) had improved to 2-0 on their final West Coast trip of the season – exploding offensively for the second straight night and sweeping the Lakers with the 120-108 victory on Thursday night at the Staples Center.
Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points – going 11-for-16 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, adding five boards and a pair of assists in 32 minutes of action.
The matchup marked the 22nd meeting between LeBron and Kobe and the NBA heavyweights with 30 All-Star appearances between them didn’t disappoint – electrifying the sold-out crowd as they went back-and-forth all night..
LeBron finished with 24 points in the win, as all five starters tallied double-figures for the second straight game. James was an even 9-of-18 from the floor to go with seven assists, five boards and a pair of blocked shots.
The most scintillating of those nine field goals came with 2:25 to play in the second quarter, when J.R. Smith broke into the open court after a Channing Frye steal and bounced an alley-oop pass high off the backboard. James grabbed the pass with his left hand and crushed home the dunk, dazzling the Staples Center crowd.
Aside from the marquee head-to-head between Bryant and James, it was Kyrie Irving who led the Wine and Gold with 26 points, going 11-for-20 from the floor and leading both squads with nine assists.
With Kevin Love sitting out Thursday’s game with a left knee sprain, the Cavaliers juggled their lineup for the Lakers – inserting Channing Frye into the starting lineup for the first time as a Cavalier. Frye passed the audition with flying colors – notching 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long-distance, to go with seven boards and a steal.
J.R. Smith followed up with 17 points, going 4-of-7 from long-range – his 28th game this season of at least three triples – and 5-of-10 overall, adding two boards, two assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.
Tristan Thompson doubled-up for the second straight night – finishing with 10 points and a game-high 14 boards.
Matthew Dellavedova rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 11 points, going 3-of-5 from three-point range. On the night, the Wine and Gold canned 16 treys – the sixth time this season they’ve hit at least 15.
Both teams shot the ball well, with the Lakers hitting on 53 percent of their shots and the Cavaliers at 52 percent. The Lakers dominated the Cavaliers in the paint – outscoring Cleveland, 54-36. But the Cavs topped L.A. in second-chance scoring and on the break while shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc.
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