Bryant did not score his first points until hitting a free throw early in the second quarter
Kobe
Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers notched their first win of the NBA season on
Friday, rallying for a 104-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
In
a Brooklyn arena packed with Bryant fans, the Lakers veteran shook off a slow
start to score 18 points.
Rookie
point guard D'Angelo Russell had his most productive game yet with 16 points,
guard Jordan Clarkson also chipped in 16 and the Lakers upped their defensive
intensity -- much to the satisfaction of coach Byron Scott.
"We
were just much more aggressive," Scott said. "We played with much
more sense of urgency."
The
Nets trailed by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter and by nine with
less than four minutes to play.
And
with 25.7 seconds to go they had trimmed the deficit to 98-95 when Nets point
guard Jarrett Jack forced a turnover.
In-bounding
the ball with a chance to tie the game, the Nets were called for a five-second
violation.
Bryant
then drained four free throws to rebuild the Lakers' lead as chants of
"Kobe! Kobe!" echoed around the arena.
"It
is great the fans appreciate him the way that they do and they're showing their
appreciation," Scott said.
Even
Jack said he could understand the admiration for a rival player at the Nets'
home arena.
"It's
a guy who's a first ballot Hall of Famer," he said of the crowd's reaction
to Bryant, who could be heading into retirement after this, his 20th
season.
"We understand what it is."
But
the defeat was a bitter disappointment for the Nets -- who had hoped to reverse
their own fortunes against the struggling Lakers.
Instead
they fell to 0-6 and remain in search of a first win of the season, along with
the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans.
The
Toronto Raptors vowed to come back stronger from their first defeat of the NBA
season after dropping a 92-87 decision to the Orlando Magic.
"We'll
learn from this," All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan promised after the Magic
ended the Raptors' club-record season-opening winning streak at five
games.
"One game is not going to define us. But one game can teach you things.
You
have to be prepared every night if you want to be a contender."
DeRozan
scored a game-high 23 points, including 20 in the second half.
But
he missed a crucial free throw that could have tied the game with 25 seconds to
play.
Meanwhile
LeBron James scored 31 points and handed out 13 assists to lead the Cleveland
Cavaliers to a 108-102 victory over the winless 76ers.
James
became the 20th player in NBA history with 9,000 field goals made in a career
-- slamming home a dunk in the first half to reach the milestone.
"King"
James is one of five active players with 9,000 baskets, along with Bryant,
Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki.
Anthony
Davis's 43 points weren't enough to lift the Pelicans, who fell 121-115 to the
high-flying Atlanta Hawks in New Orleans.
Davis
scored 33 points in the second half but the Pelicans fell to 0-5 as Atlanta's
Kyle Korver broke out of his shooting slump with 22 points on perfect eight-for-eight
shooting.
In
the late games the streaking Warriors improved to 6-0 with a 119-104 victory
over the Denver Nuggets.
They're
now the only undefeated team this season.
Stephen
Curry scored 34 points in another dominant performance by the Warriors, who led
40-23 after the first quarter and 74-44 at half-time.
Also:
Milwaukee beat New York 99-92, Indian edged Miami 90-87, Detroit accounted for
Phoenix 100-92 and Houston outlasted Sacramento 116-110.
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