Kobe Scores 30 As Lakers Beat Wizards

[February 04, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Kobe Bryant outscored the Washington Wizards all by himself in the first quarter Sunday. Then he let his Los Angeles Lakers teammates in on the fun.

Bryant put up 19 points in the opening period on his way to finishing with 30 on 10-of-15 shooting, and the Lakers had no need for the newly acquired Pau Gasol in a 103-91 victory over the Wizards.

Gasol, the 7-foot Spaniard who came over from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade Friday, sat on the sideline in a pinstriped suit jacket, listening to tips on the Lakers' triangle offense from assistant coach Brian Shaw.

The 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year's new teammates put on quite a clinic, too, repeatedly making the extra pass to find wide-open looks at the basket. The Lakers compiled 27 assists on 41 field goals, with Vladimir Radmanovic scoring 15 points, Lamar Odom 14, and Ronny Turiaf 13.

None, though, provided anything as spectacular as Bryant.

His every move greeted by a mix of boos and cheers from the sellout crowd of 20,173, Bryant mixed baseline drives and finger rolls with midrange jumpers and 3-pointers, including one as he curled around a screen in the fourth quarter.

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Washington's All-Star representative, Caron Butler, returned from a three-game injury absence and scored 15.

Only 6 1/2 minutes into the game, the man chiefly assigned to guard Bryant, DeShawn Stevenson, already was sitting down with three personal fouls, a black T-shirt over his jersey. Another player assigned to try to slow Bryant, rookie Nick Young, picked up his third foul with just under 2 minutes left in the second quarter.

Butler also tried to defend Bryant, with similar results. On one sequence, Butler was spun around on Bryant's twisting baseline drive for a layup. On another, Bryant made a 3-pointer over the outstretched hand of his former teammate.

Add it up, and Bryant helped Los Angeles build a 30-15 lead after one quarter -- or, put another way: Kobe 19, Wizards 15.

Bryant had 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting by halftime, when the Lakers were up 63-41 -- the most points allowed by Washington in a first half this season.

Los Angeles made 66 percent of its shots in the half, while limiting Washington to only 36 percent.

Notes: Gasol shot baskets before the game but did not suit up. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said the 2006 All-Star wasn't quite ready because of a sore back, a whirlwind 48 hours and an unfamiliarity with the team's offense. "We want him to practice first. He traveled back and forth across the country, up all night, short hours of sleep. This isn't a fair situation for him," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before Sunday's game. "We'll practice tomorrow and see how he feels." ... Jackson talked about donating money to Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign and mentioned that he "put a plug out for Obama" on his Los Angeles TV show. ... Butler's free-throw streak ended after an NBA season-best 73 consecutive makes; he missed one with 17.5 seconds left in the third quarter. ... The Lakers are three games into a nine-game road trip.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD FENDRICH]

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