After spending two weeks on the road having opposing fans chant his name, Kobe Bryant received that same treatment in Downtown Los Angeles, as he engineered the Lakers’ biggest win of the season — a113-95 sprint past Milwaukee.
“This is home, and I’ve spent so much time here (that) for me it’s special, because I want to appreciate at every chance,” said Bryant, who finished with 22 points despite sitting the fourth quarter. “Get to the arena, going through the process of getting ready — the routine and getting on the floor for warmups.
“Just kind of taking it all in, because I know it will be all over at the bat of an eye.”
The five-time champion shined in his 27 minutes on the floor, shooting 7-of-15, including a trio of 3-pointers — one of which was a four-point play that he sunk while drawing a foul from 26 feet away.
The 37-year-old scored 10 in the first quarter and 11 in the third, while collecting six assists along the way. He has averaged 18.2 points on 47.2 percent shooting in his last five games after recording 15.9 points on a 29.6 percent clip in his first 17 contests.
“I just had to be patient with myself,” Bryant said. “Just continue with the training and running and things like that. Then understanding that timing was a big part of it. I had to accept that the more you play, the more your timing comes back. The past couple years I’ve missed a lot of games.”
L.A. opened the third quarter on a 20-7 run to capture a season-high 22-point lead, thus allowing Bryant to sit the final period.
But there was little drop-off, as D’Angelo Russell scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth. The rookie also provided a career-best seven assists, plus three steals.
“Things are coming easier just as I get that experience,” Russell said. “Knowing that there’s a flow to the game that you’ve got to figure out — the pace. And once you figure it out, it makes everything easier.”
Russell also credited much of his recent success to his connection with Julius Randle, who provided 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, head coach Byron Scott saw the young Lakers’ growth as part of Bryant embracing a mentoring role.
“I think (Bryant) enjoys it,” Scott said. “He’s at peace with everything that’s going on right now. I think he enjoys seeing these guys develop, because in the back of his mind somewhere he looks at these guys and remembers when he was in that position.”
Kobe Bryant #NBAVOTE pic.twitter.com/HYUzGiMGE1
The Bucks Stop Here Milwaukee (10-16) was coming off perhaps the most impressive win of any team this season, as they handed Golden State its first loss on Saturday.
But they fell behind by nine at halftime and never recovered.
“We jumped off really fast, and I would say we didn’t look back,” D’Angelo Russell said. “They fought back and we just found a way to retaliate and kept going the whole way.”
The Lakers (4-21) also took advantage of the Bucks missing their leading rebounder, Greg Monroe (sore left knee).
Like Randle, Hibbert also notched a double-double with 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Collectively, the Lakers hauled in a season-best 18 offensive rebounds, including six from Randle and four from Hibbert and Larry Nance Jr.
L.A. finished with 29 second-chance points.
“(The Lakers) had their way on the rebound offensively,” Milwaukee head coach Jason Kidd said. “Every time we got a miss, they came up with the loose ball or rebound and converted.”
Too Strong!! Julius Randle #nbavote
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 15, 2015 at 8:16pm PST
The purple and gold also kept spreading the ball around, as they handed out a season-high 26 assists.
Larry Springer On a night that featured a seemingly endless stream of highlights, Larry Nance Jr. sent the sold-out Staples Center crowd of 18,997 berserk by rising well above John Henson and throwing down a hammering dunk on him in the third quarter.
“I thought he had hit the max,” Bryant said. “I thought he was going to get fouled and get a few (free throws). But he just kept going up and up and up. That was good stuff.”
Notes Milwaukee outshot the Lakers, 47.1 percent to 46.1. But L.A. had advantages in 3-pointers (10-4) and free throws (21-11). … Seven Lakers scored in double figures, including Lou Williams (16). … The Bucks fell to 0-13 this season when trailing at halftime. … Michael Carter-Williams led Milwaukee with 19 points off the bench.
#WeGotTacos pic.twitter.com/zdnRN4EZjq
