Kobe's best shooting night not enough for Lakers against Raptors
TORONTO — Unless he participates in February's All-Star Weekend festivities, Kobe Bryant has enjoyed his final NBA moment on Canadian soil.
Bryant's farewell tour rolled through Toronto on Monday when the Lakers suffered a 102-93 loss to the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The unmistakable colors of Lakers jerseys filled the arena starting several hours before tip-off. Those fans came to witness Bryant, who recently announced his retirement for the end of the season, make his final regular season visit north of the border.
An overwhelming majority of the 20,163 fans in attendance offered loud chants of "Kobe! Kobe!" before the game even started. Those chants extended throughout the action and past the final horn, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to will Bryant to a winning performance.
Battling illness, Bryant had 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting (his first 50% shooting game of the season) against the team he famously dropped 81 points on in Los Angeles in January 2006.
"You just try to figure your way through the challenge. You try to learn from it and do better and try to figure out this puzzle," Bryant told Paste BN Sports after the game. "It's tough, because it's not like we're a championship contender or anything like that, but you still have to try to go out there and do what you have to do. I have to take responsibility to try to do better."
Bryant has produced several memorable games against the Raptors during his historic career. He's scored 40 or more points against the team on five separate occasions, but his rapid decline in scoring production kept him far from that benchmark Monday.
After the game, Bryant reflected on why the 81-point game against the Raptors is so dear to his heart.
"I think the game was more special not just from a basketball standpoint, but from a family standpoint," Bryant said. "My grandfather's birthday, who passed away recently. My grandmother, who doesn't like coming to the games because it makes her so nervous, she flew out to L.A. to watch me play. From a personal standpoint that game holds a tremendous amount of value even besides what took place on the court."
As has become routine during a season that has the Lakers in the basement of the Western Conference standings, Bryant's final moment against the team he delivered his greatest single-game performance was no fairy tale.
"I know it's hard on him because I know what type of competitor he is, but I also think at this point in his career and his life he's pretty much accepted the fact this is the end of the road," Lakers coach Byron Scott said prior to the game. "The one thing I see from him now on the day-to-day basis is he's very much at peace with his decision to retire after this season is over. So I think he's trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
"He's one of those guys where I don't think he left any stone unturned. He got everything he could possibly get out of his body for 20 years in this league and I think he's left his heart on the basketball court."
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry took a firm grip on the action early, with his 19 first-half points putting the Raptors ahead 52-42 at halftime. He finished with 27. The Lakers pushed back throughout the second half, even tying the game multiple times in the fourth quarter, but ultimately they were unable to get over the hump and take a lead.
The Raptors' ability to prevent a Lakers comeback was in large part due to the second-half scoring of Terrance Ross (22 points) and the low-post work of Bismack Biyombo (15 points, 13 rebounds).
Although it marked the Lakers' 10th defeat in the past 11 games, their ability to keep the contest relatively close from beginning to end was a sign of improvement that arguably stemmed from the decision to start Lou Williams and Larry Nance Jr. in place of D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle.
The shakeup was fruitless in the end, though, because the Lakers could not deliver key stops down the stretch to keep the game within reach.
Although it was Bryant's most efficient shooting performance this year, it was another unsuccessful performance by the Lakers.
Bryant ends his career against the Raptors with a 24-9 record including 10-6 in Toronto. The future Hall of Fame inductee was cheered loudly during his final substitution off the court with 23 seconds remaining, which is a sign of appreciation from fans that Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said was more than deserved.
"That man played at the highest level of basketball for 18 years. You've got to give him credit no matter how he goes out," DeRozan said. "He could average one point for the rest of the year. That don't take away from him being one of the greatest players of all time."
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