Kobe Bryant played his final game in Cleveland on Wednesday night. It was never a close game, but the historical significance of Kobe’s last time in town made it a lively atmosphere and the Cavs endured another scare from Kevin Love, who exited the game with a shoulder-injury.
The Cavs would roll past the Lakers 120-111, thanks to 35 points from Kyrie and 29 from LeBron.
The crowd went crazy when Kobe hit the first shot for the Lakers, but the rest of the first quarter went as expected as the Cavs jumped out to a big lead early. LeBron James got off to another good start after posting his first triple-double of the season on Monday, scoring ten points and dishing out six assists in the first quarter against the Lakers.
The Cavs would lead 35-25 at the end of the quarter. Bryant scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting in the quarter.
Cleveland kept a comfortable lead for most of the second quarter, until the Lakers would briefly get it down to a six-point game with four minutes left to make it 46-40.
Late in the second quarter, the Cavs received a scare from Love, who headed to the locker room with an apparent shoulder-injury.
Kevin Love has a shoulder injury that occurred on this play where he was defended by Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/zUsDPnR1Ur
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) February 11, 2016
The Cavs would enter halftime leading 64-47.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron led all scoring in the first half with 17 points each.
The Cavs cruised through the third quarter and would enter the final period on top 93-74.
Cleveland would roll to a 120-111 victory.
Irving finished with a game-high 35 points and seven assists.
LeBron finished with 29 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists.
Tristan Thompson had a big night with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Lou Williams led the Lakers with 28 points.
Kobe’s last box score in Cleveland ended up with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists, shooting 5-of-16 from the field. His highlight of the night came in the fourth quarter, down by 13, when he drained a three-pointer while getting fouled to convert it into a four-point play and bring the Lakers within single-digits with 5:36 to go.
Here is what may be remembered as the Black Mamba’s last highlight in Cleveland:
There was a bit of good news regarding the status of Love from Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
League source tells ESPN that upon initial examination, Cavs do not believe Love's shoulder injury to be major: "Most likely he'll be fine"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 11, 2016
The Cavs enter the All-Star Break with a record of 38-14 in first place in the Eastern Conference. They’ll get some well-deserved rest until the Chicago Bulls return to town Thursday, February 18th for an 8 PM showdown.
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