Through three quarters last night against the visiting Warriors, Kobe Bryant had attempted 34 shots, and connected on 15 of them for 44 points. The rest of his team in that timespan was 12-of-44 for 35 points. Mamba didn’t play in the fourth — the Lakers entered the period down by 36 — but while he certainly rebounded from the worst shooting performance of his career when the Spurs were in town on Friday, the Lakers are a sinking ship and we’re not sure the Captain’s pride can handle sinking with the ship.
By way of Lakers PR manager Calder Hynes, comes a pretty adroit comparison when discussing Kobe’s shot-heavy night:
Last player to score 44+ points in < 32 minutes was J.R. Smith (45 in 30) 4/13/09
Kobe has 44 in 31 minutes tonight
— Calder Hynes (@calder_h) November 17, 2014
Kobe, meanwhile, attempted to explain — by way of the ESPN’s Baxter Holmes — why he shouldered so much of the offensive burden last night through the game’s first 36 minutes:
I asked Kobe a/b his many shots. Kobe: "I’d rather not have to do that, but you can’t just sit back and watch crime happen in front of you."
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) November 17, 2014
We love that Mamba describes Golden State’s running and gunning domination through three sessions last night as watching “crime happen,” because that’s certainly how Lakers fans feel about this year’s 1-9 team that’s in the basement of the Western Conference.
Will the Lakers finish with the league’s worst record?
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