CLEVELAND, OH—Wednesday, February 10 marked Kobe Bryant’s last game at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, as the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Cavaliers.
Like many away games on this Kobe farewell tour, the evening started off with an electric montage on the jumbotron featuring some of Kobe’s greatest moments throughout his illustrious career.
Lebron James and Kobe embraced before tip-off, expressing the gratitude that they had for one another.
Once the formalities and sentiment were over, and the game began, the Lakers were left playing catch-up throughout the entire game, as Cleveland never relinquished the lead after they scored the first bucket.
Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points shooting 15 of 24 from the field. James added 29 making 12 of 22 of his field goal attempts.
Cavaliers forward Kevin Love left in the first half with an apparent shoulder injury that he called a “stinger.”
The Lakers made a few runs throughout the game to keep it competitive. Kobe converted on a 4-point play in the fourth quarter to reduce the lead to 8, but 3-pointers made by James and JR Smith officially put the Lakers away.
Bryant finished the game with 17 points, while Lou Williams led all Lakers scorers with 28.
This marks the 13th loss for Los Angeles in 15 games. They will look to re-coup mentally and physically as they head into the all-star break.
