TRAPPED IN 'CATS' CRADLE BRYANT SCORES 35, BUT GOES COLD IN FINAL QUARTER AS LAKERS LOSE TO CHARLOTTE CHARLOTTE 112, LAKERS 102.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The box score will show Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. finishing with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting Friday night against the last-place Charlotte Bobcats The Charlotte Bobcats are a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association. . What it won't show is the frustration evident for Bryant after the most inexcusable loss of the Lakers' season. The Bobcats snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 112-102 victory over the Lakers, totaling a franchise-record 40 points in the first quarter and taking the ball out of Bryant's hands with one double-team after another in the fourth quarter. As he put it afterward, Bryant was ``zoned in'' during the third quarter, converting six long jumpers from all over the court as the Lakers closed to 88-84. The Bobcats never had led a game from start to finish in their two-year existence - until Friday, that is. Bryant had no choice but to give up the ball in the fourth quarter with the Bobcats sending two and three defenders at him every possession. The results were less than encouraging as the Lakers hit 4 of 17 shots in the final period and lost. ``I expect those shots to go down,'' Bryant said. ``They didn't fall for us tonight. Hopefully, they'll fall for us the next game. ``This is the game plan guys are going to continue to deploy against us. You have to be ready to step in and take the responsibility and the accountability to knock those shots down.'' Smush Parker William Henry "Smush" Parker (born June 1 1981, in New York, New York) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association.[1] Parker played shooting guard in college, but moved to point guard in the NBA. finished with 19 points and made five 3-pointers, but had an uneven game with eight turnovers. Brian Cook For other persons named Brian Cook, see Brian Cook (disambiguation). Brian Joshua Cook (born December 4, 1980 in Lincoln, Illinois) is a power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. went 1 of 8, Devean George Devean Jamar George (born August 29 1977 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He typically plays small forward but because of his athleticism and defensive activity, can defend many shooting guards as well. went 2 of 9 and Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28 1980 in San Diego, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His position is small forward. went 1 of 6 as the Lakers - not named Bryant - shot a collective 35.7 percent. Bryant faced similar double-teams in Wednesday's 105-79 loss to Indiana, a game in which the rest of the Lakers shot 29.5 percent. The Bobcats, meanwhile, hadn't won since Jan. 10 and were playing without injured forwards Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor, abbreviated as Emeka Okafor (born September 28, 1982, in Houston, Texas), is an American professional basketball player playing at power forward and center for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association. and Gerald Wallace Gerald Jermaine Wallace (born July 23 1982 in Sylacauga, Alabama) is a 6'7" (201 cm) American professional basketball player starting at small forward for the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. . ``Teams that have lost a lot of games are dangerous,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. said. ``We knew that coming in. We just have no excuses. They outplayed us tonight, they outhustled us.'' Former Lakers forward Jumaine Jones Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10 1979, in Cocoa, Florida) is an American professional basketball player. He is currently a free agent after playing for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. His position is small forward, but he plays power forward occasionally. , traded to Charlotte in October for a 2007 second-round draft pick, finished with a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds. He stopped by the Lakers' locker room afterward with a bag of things for Bryant to sign. ``Obviously, it was sweet revenge for him,'' Jackson said of Jones, who played all of 46 minutes in five exhibition games for the Lakers before being traded. ``We know what kind of player Jumaine is.'' The Lakers also saw the injury report get a little longer. With Lamar Odom already sidelined by a sprained rib, center Chris Mihm suffered a sprained right shoulder late in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats converted every shot they needed late with Jones and Raymond Felton connecting on 3-pointers and center Primoz Brezec drilling a 17-footer off a pass from Felton. Melvin Ely's three-point play with 47.9 seconds left finished things. Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Charlotte's Jumaine Jones scored 31 points Friday and was instrumental in defeating the Lakers, his former team. (2) Clippers' Chris Kaman, right, and Chris Wilcox try to get in the way of Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak in Friday's game. Chris Keane/Associated Press |
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