Love Injured As Cavaliers Defeat Bryant, Lakers, 120-111
CLEVELAND (AP) — Kobe Bryant's final game in Cleveland was reduced to a sideshow when Cavaliers forward Kevin Love re-injured his surgically repaired left shoulder in the first half of a 120-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points and LeBron James 29 for the Cavs, who head into the All-Star break with one of their "Big 3" injured.
Love quickly left the floor late in the second quarter after he got hurt while working in the post against Bryant. He did not return in the second half, and the Cavs did not provide any specifics about his injury.
Bryant finished with 17 points in his last performance in Cleveland. Lou Williams scored 28 to lead the Lakers, who have dropped 13 of 15.
Bryant's farewell in Quicken Loans Arena became secondary to Cavs fans when Love hustled off the floor with 46.5 seconds to play in the first half, his left arm dangling to his side. He yelled toward Cleveland's bench "it's my shoulder" before heading into the tunnel and straight to the locker room with medical personnel and general manager David Griffin following him.
Love had his shoulder dislocated in the first round of last season's playoffs when Boston center Kelly Olynyk yanked it from the socket while battling for a loose ball. The loss of Love disrupted the Cavs' title chase and raised questions about whether he would fully recover. The injury didn't dissuade the Cavs from signing him to a maximum contract last summer and he was back in time for the start of the season.
Love is averaging 15.8 points and 10.4 rebounds.
Cleveland carried a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter, but struggled to put away the lowly Lakers.
Bryant converted a 4-point play and made three free throws to get Los Angeles within 108-100, but J.R. Smith and James made 3-pointers in the final three minutes.
The Cavs tastefully saluted Bryant during pregame introductions with a video presentation of some of his best moments. Bryant watched the tribute on the arena's gigantic scoreboard before hearing his name and taking the floor with his teammates. Bryant patted his chest in appreciation as Cleveland's crowd broke into chants of "Ko-be, Ko-be."
Before the opening tip, Bryant walked to the Cavs bench and hugged Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, who won two NBA titles as his teammate in Los Angeles.
Bryant and James started out guarding each other, a matchup NBA fans never got to witness in the Finals and will only see one more time when the Cavs visit the Lakers on March 10.
Before the game, Bryant said he's never viewed James as a rival.
"I never looked to see what he was doing," Bryant said. "I just felt like we were a completely different generation. I just missed that thing completely. Not like a Magic-Bird sort of thing. From the time he came into the league it was more helping him, giving him direction, advice."
Bryant and James shared a heartfelt hug before the Lakers' superstar left with 40 seconds left to a rousing ovation.
TIP-INS
Lakers: One of Bryant's roles in his final season is to mentor rookie D'Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft. "Well, it's like a big brother, or a grandfather," Bryant cracked. "I just talk to him often about the game and the mentality and technique and execution, as well as some of the psychological things that he's going through and how to navigate through those. Russell got drilled in a sensitive area by a James pass in the fourth quarter. After he got back to the bench, Bryant laughed at him. ... The Lakers have lost eight of nine on the road.
Cavaliers: G Matthew Dellavedova missed his fifth straight game with left hamstring soreness. ... James entered the night trailing Paul Pierce for 15th place on the NBA's career scoring list. ... Because he's played with Bryant and coached James, Lue is as qualified as anyone to compare the two superstars. "They're both the same," he said. "Kobe is more ready to fight you, he'll cuss you out. LeBron is more by example."
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host San Antonio on Feb. 19.
Cavaliers: Host Chicago on Feb. 18.
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