Kobe the constant in the ever-changing West
With 52 points, Lakers star shows again why he's the NBA's best player
 Mark J. Terrill / AP Kobe Bryant, left, was too much for Dallas' Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki to handle Sunday. |
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When the Lakers purloined Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies, it caused just about every Western Conference general manager to exhaust his wireless minutes for the entire month in the span of a few days in an effort to keep up. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, no doubt has a couple of cells and a Blackberry, because it took extra capacity to complete a convoluted deal to bring in Jason Kidd.
It’s early yet. That trade only went down on Feb. 19, and Kidd has only recently begun to feel comfortable in his new team’s high tops. But on Sunday in a network-televised imbroglio, Kobe Bryant reminded everyone that he still exists, that he hasn’t moved and that his team is on the move.
The Lakers defeated the Mavericks, 108-104, in overtime, and Bryant had the kind of game that will reverberate far beyond this one of 82. He poured in 52 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and he was there down the stretch with key free throws and clutch rebounds.
“He likes to have fun, he likes to compete and he likes to take on a challenge,” Gasol said afterward.
In this case, Bryant faced the Mavs for the first time this season with Kidd. The first time Kidd donned a Dallas uniform was in the fall of 1994, and he was there until December of ’96 before being traded to Phoenix; Bryant then was only two months into his rookie season when Kidd was traded away the first time and was only averaging about 16 minutes and eight points a game.
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“He kinda took over,” Gasol explained.
Ya think?
Kidd, for his part, may have lost the clash-of-the-titans game within the game, but he seems like he’s growing into his new surroundings. Last week he absorbed some minor public humiliation by being benched for the final 34 seconds of what eventually became a three-point loss to the Spurs because he wasn’t looking for his shot. He appears to have gotten the message, although he didn’t suddenly turn into a post-Shaq, pre-Gasol Kobe.
On Sunday, Kidd scored 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting, with 11 assists, six rebounds and four steals. He was almost the Jason Kidd the Mavs hoped he would be, although they surely will hope for even more in the coming weeks.
“He’s tough-minded,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said of his new point guard. “He’s becoming a better teammate and a better leader.
“We’re finding out more and more about Kidd. We’re finding out more and more about our team as we go forward.”
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