SOMETHING IN THE HEIR IN L.A.'S BYE TO MJ, BRYANT SCORES 55 LAKERS 108, WASHINGTON 94.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

At every stop on the farewell tour, Michael Jordan has been offered gifts and tributes and all manner of worshipful gestures, and he has dutifully demurred every time. His goodbye to Los Angeles was supposed to be similarly discreet, but then Kobe Bryant spun his own form of tribute, and no one - especially Jordan - could stop it.

In a season in which Bryant has emulated Jordan's greatness, challenged his records and seized the title as his worthy heir, he sent off the legend with a legendary performance Friday at Staples Center.

Bryant scored an NBA season-high 55 points in 108-94 Lakers victory. Bryant made 15 of 29 shots, 16 of 18 free throws and fell one point shy of his career high.

It was Bryant's fifth 50-point game, his third this season. And his first with Jordan as a witness.

The final meeting between Air and Heir ended without the two ever defending each other. But Jordan did force Bryant into a pair of offensive fouls.

There wasn't so much a passing of the torch as a clumsy collision. Bryant ran over Jordan on the sideline, near midcourt, knocking him on his back. The whistle blew, Bryant broke into a goofy grin and proceeded to playfully throw punches at the prone 40-year-old.

Bryant's 42-point first half easily eclipsed Elgin Baylor's 42-year-old franchise record. Baylor had a 37-point half against the New York Knicks on Nov. 15, 1960.

Bryant's 14 field goals in the half fell one shy of the team record, held by Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. His eight 3-pointers tied the NBA record for a half, shared by Ray Allen, Tim Thomas and Michael Redd.

Had he not sat out half of the fourth quarter, Bryant might have broken the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game - a mark he set Jan. 7, with 12 against Seattle. He finished 9 of 12 from the arc.

Jordan scored a bunch early on but faded as the night wore on and finished, fittingly, with 23 points.

Shaquille O'Neal took on the load in the later stages, finishing with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Showing his prescience - or perhaps just knowing how Bryant loves to seize the spotlight - coach Phil Jackson predicted before tipoff that it would be Bryant, not Shaquille O'Neal, who would become the offensive focus.

``Kobe's the one that has to carry the game a little bit tonight,'' he said. ``They're going to be focused on Shaquille. ... We can take advantage of the fact that they're going to be focused on what Shaquille's done in the past week and a half or two.''

Jordan was the last Wizards starter introduced, and the crowd was roaring and on its feet before public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter finished his name. The ovation ended when the lights went down for the Lakers intros.

They were back on their feet after a video tribute between the first and second quarters. It concluded with a simple message: ``Thanks for the memories.'' The in-house camera then panned to Jordan, and he looked up and waved his thanks back.

Jordan made the first two baskets of the game, made his first four attempts from the field and scored nine of the Wizards' first 11 points. The crowd cheered his every move and savored every minor detail. When Jordan shot his first free throws, early in the first quarter, a thousand camera flashes flickered across the arena.

Jordan received his third, and final, standing ovation when he went to the bench for good, with 2:34 left.

For their part, the Lakers tried not to spend much time feeling sentimental about playing against a legend for the last time.

``I think everybody is looking forward to the game, but I don't think they're going to get into that type of thing,'' Jackson said. ``I think they all want to do well and they want to prove their point and play their game.''

As Jordan cooled off, Bryant heated up. He scored 19 points in the first quarter, then turned his hot hand into a fitting numerical tribute, scoring 23 consecutive points over a 5:42 span from the first to the second quarter.

He followed that up by scoring 10 consecutive points, and the Lakers seized an early double-digit lead. The celebration of Jordan had been muted, and the Wizards followed suit.

The victory was the Lakers' 10th in a row at home.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kobe Bryant scored an NBA season-high 55 points in Michael Jordan's last game in Los Angeles.

(2) Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan share a laugh after Jordan drew a charging foul on Bryant.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) GAME RECAP