NBA Preseason Games 2015: Kobe Bryant Leads Los Angeles Lakers To Blowout Win Over Maccabi Haifa
Kobe Bryant had his best preseason game this year as he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 126-83 win over Maccabi Haifa of Israel on Sunday night at Staples Center.
Bryant, who will be playing in his 20th season in the league, erupted for 21 points in just 19 minutes of playing time, knocking down four of his six three-point attempts.
After the game, Bryant said that he is pleased with his progress. The 37-year-old missed majority of last season after sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury.
"I feel exactly where I want to be," said Bryant, who only played in 35 games last season.
Lakers head coach Byron Scott said after the game that Bryant was not supposed to shoot a lot of threes on Sunday night, but he quickly added that the superstar guard is hard to stop when he is in the zone. The second-year Lakers coach also added that he liked what he saw from Bryant.
"We try to keep him below the 3-point line. But when he's scoring it like he was tonight, he obviously has the capability of being able to step out there as well," Scott said via ESPN. "He looks better and better. His timing looks great, his movement looks great, and he just looks so much more fluid right now."
Aside from Bryant, Lakers young guns also did a lot of damage against the Israeli club. Highly-touted rookie D'Angelo Russell finished with five points and 11 assists, Julius Randle finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while starting point guard Jordan Clarkson posted 10 points on top of four rebounds and four assists.
The Lakers dominated the battle of the boards, 61-26, and also dished out a total of 30 assists, but also committed 22 turnovers. The win on Sunday was their first in four preseason games, but Scott said that he is not concerned about the results of the exhibition games heading into the 2015-16 NBA season.
"The preseason is just like summer league. I don't put a whole lot of stock into it," Scott said. "It's all about trying to get ready for the regular season and trying to put all your stuff in at both ends of the floor. If you win, that's great. If you don't, you hope you can learn from it."
The Lakers will look to pick up from where they left off on Sunday when they collide with the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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