Kobe’s 58 points not enough as Lakers fall to Bobcats

With Lamar Odom out, possibly until the All-Star break, everybody expected Kobe Bryant to step up his scoring. But is that the best way for the Lakers to win? That’s the question after Friday’s triple-overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.

In fact after the game, Bryant told reporters, “I don’t want to have to do that. It’s too tiring.”

Bryant actually fouled out of the game and his final two fouls may have cost the Lakers. Bryant fouled Derek Anderson on a 3-point attempt and Anderson made all three free throws to give Charlotte a five-point lead. Anderson later drew a charge on Bryant for his sixth foul.

Bryant took 45 shots in the game, making 22. No other Laker took more than 10 shots. “I was yellnig at them to run their offense and get away from that,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters after the game. “They just seemed to be going back to him all the time.”

Kobe Bryant

It was the Lakers ninth game since Odom went down with his knee injury and Los Angeles is 4-5 in that period. They did finish their six-game road trip at 3-3 and return home on Sunday to host Philadelphia. With Phoenix having won two of three since its 15-game winning streak was stopped, first place in the Pacific Division could be slipping out of the Lakers’ reach.
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Posted in General on December 29, 2006

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