As if there was any doubt, Bryant made it clear: He's back to being the closer.
Two days after getting benched late in a home loss to Memphis, Bryant made a pair of jumpers in the final 64 seconds, finishing with 30 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the undermanned Golden State Warriors, 104-101 on Tuesday night.
Suddenly, all is right again in Lakerland.
"Why is everybody acting like we're in eighth place?" Bryant said. "You guys were kissing the Clippers' (butts) at the start of the season, and now we're in the third seed and everybody's acting like we (stink). I don't understand it."
Bryant sealed Los Angeles' latest victory in furious fashion.
He missed his first two shots in the final quarter before twice rising over a pair of defenders for difficult fall-away jumpers from the corner. The first tied the game and the second put the Lakers ahead by two — and for good — with 32 seconds remaining, giving Los Angeles its third win in four games and putting to rest any doubt about his role in coach Mike Brown's offense.
"That's what guys like Kobe can do," Brown said. "When you have a special player like that, you put the ball in his hands and ask him to go make a play."
Former Warriors forward Matt Barnes had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Pau Gasol added 19 points and 17 rebounds to give Los Angeles its third win in four games.
While Brown and Bryant never made a big deal about the benching, a similar situation is started to brew. Center Andrew Bynum, who took a 3-pointer with plenty of time remaining on the shot clock in the third quarter, sat for the game's final 9:10 — and the two sides are suddenly at odds.
"I don't know what was bench-worthy about the shot to be honest with you," said Bynum, who had 11 points and five rebounds. "I made one (in Sunday's game). I wanted to make another one. That's it. He took offense to it, so he put me on the bench."
Just another day for the Lakers.
David Lee had 23 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Klay Thompson scored 20 points for the Warriors, who overcame a 16-point, first-half deficit only to lose for the seventh time in nine games. Missing three injured starters, Golden State still had to feel good about its effort, tying a franchise low with only five turnovers.
Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he checked his phone at halftime and noticed a text message from former Indiana Pacers teammate Reggie Miller that read, "What the heck is that lineup?"
"When you look at the starting lineup, if I was a betting man, it'd be safe to say the Lakers would drill us," Jackson said. "The bottom line is, at the end of the day, I've got a bunch of guys that compete, that get after it, that work extremely hard, that have tremendous character and pride and gave ourselves a chance."
As usual, it wasn't as good as Bryant's finish.
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