i know we have a bunch of kobe haters in this board. but please read this and consider wether he's got the heart of a lion or not. tonight game's recap on nba.com Since Sunday's overtime win in Houston, he has flown to Colorado and back here for three straight days of pre-trial hearings. "I'm very tired," Bryant said. "I've never played a game when I was this tired. I've never had a three-day span like this in my life. I feel tired. But it's the competition and the will to win, do the job the best way I can and help my teammates win the game by any means necessary." Bryant arrived less than a half-hour before tip-off and appeared fatigued early in the game. But he got a second wind in the second quarter, scoring 14 points, then matched Houston's total -- nine -- in the third period. "I was hoping we could jump out to an early lead and kind of coast a little bit, but they jumped on us early," Bryant said. "Because of circumstances, you kind of force yourself to pick up your energy and pick up the pace a little bit." The superstar guard was rubbing his eyes in the third quarter, which the Rockets may have been doing in disbelief. They endured their second nine-point quarter of the series and went down meekly in their first postseason appearance in five years. "My eyes just got real heavy," Bryant said. "I just kind of blinked them once in a while. They were very heavy. But I just tried to shake it off." "It could be a lack of (playoff) experience. Who knows?" Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "You're supposed to want it more. You're supposed to get into fights on the court, if anything." Karl Malone had another solid game with 18 points for the Lakers, who have reached the conference semifinals every year since 1997 -- when Bryant and superstar center Shaquille O'Neal first became teammates. Jim Jackson scored 17 points and Mobley and Steve Francis added 16 each for the Rockets, who committed 22 turnovers. All-Star center Yao Ming managed just 10 points. Bryant had some trouble in the first quarter staying with Mobley, who made three 3-pointers and scored 14 points, giving Houston a 27-24 lead and sending Bryant to the bench. But a reverse two-hand dunk gave the Lakers a 31-29 edge early in the second period and seemed to get Bryant going. "His man got 14 points in the first quarter and I took him out and just let him sit down for a couple of seconds because he couldn't get focused on it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "On my way back to the bench, (Jackson) just wanted to get me a blow, try to get my rhythm, get my legs under me, so I can get a feel for the game and get my energy quickly," Bryant said. "It helped out a lot." The Rockets still held a 48-47 halftime lead before unraveling in the third quarter, making just 2-of-16 shots while committing four turnovers. Malone had two jumpers in a 9-1 burst that gave the Lakers the lead for good and Bryant had a layup and 3-pointer to make it 69-55 with 1:08 to go. "(He) had a great game despite everything that was going on," Francis said. Bryant left to a standing ovation and hugs from his teammates midway through the fourth quarter. "All I have to do is get out there and play and then go to sleep," Bryant said.
Before we start feeling sorry for him remember that he is on trial for rape/sexual harrasment. I'm not seeing he is guilty but its not like he was on some charity trip in Colorado. He brought this upon himself. Nevertheless, impressive performance against the Rockets.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting worldchamps9903:</div><div class="quote_post">i know we have a bunch of kobe haters in this board. but please read this and consider wether he's got the heart of a lion or not. tonight game's recap on nba.com Since Sunday's overtime win in Houston, he has flown to Colorado and back here for three straight days of pre-trial hearings. "I'm very tired," Bryant said. "I've never played a game when I was this tired. I've never had a three-day span like this in my life. I feel tired. But it's the competition and the will to win, do the job the best way I can and help my teammates win the game by any means necessary." Bryant arrived less than a half-hour before tip-off and appeared fatigued early in the game. But he got a second wind in the second quarter, scoring 14 points, then matched Houston's total -- nine -- in the third period. "I was hoping we could jump out to an early lead and kind of coast a little bit, but they jumped on us early," Bryant said. "Because of circumstances, you kind of force yourself to pick up your energy and pick up the pace a little bit." The superstar guard was rubbing his eyes in the third quarter, which the Rockets may have been doing in disbelief. They endured their second nine-point quarter of the series and went down meekly in their first postseason appearance in five years. "My eyes just got real heavy," Bryant said. "I just kind of blinked them once in a while. They were very heavy. But I just tried to shake it off." "It could be a lack of (playoff) experience. Who knows?" Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "You're supposed to want it more. You're supposed to get into fights on the court, if anything." Karl Malone had another solid game with 18 points for the Lakers, who have reached the conference semifinals every year since 1997 -- when Bryant and superstar center Shaquille O'Neal first became teammates. Jim Jackson scored 17 points and Mobley and Steve Francis added 16 each for the Rockets, who committed 22 turnovers. All-Star center Yao Ming managed just 10 points. Bryant had some trouble in the first quarter staying with Mobley, who made three 3-pointers and scored 14 points, giving Houston a 27-24 lead and sending Bryant to the bench. But a reverse two-hand dunk gave the Lakers a 31-29 edge early in the second period and seemed to get Bryant going. "His man got 14 points in the first quarter and I took him out and just let him sit down for a couple of seconds because he couldn't get focused on it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "On my way back to the bench, (Jackson) just wanted to get me a blow, try to get my rhythm, get my legs under me, so I can get a feel for the game and get my energy quickly," Bryant said. "It helped out a lot." The Rockets still held a 48-47 halftime lead before unraveling in the third quarter, making just 2-of-16 shots while committing four turnovers. Malone had two jumpers in a 9-1 burst that gave the Lakers the lead for good and Bryant had a layup and 3-pointer to make it 69-55 with 1:08 to go. "(He) had a great game despite everything that was going on," Francis said. Bryant left to a standing ovation and hugs from his teammates midway through the fourth quarter. "All I have to do is get out there and play and then go to sleep," Bryant said.</div> This is starting to look like old news regarding Kobe Bryant and his legal troubles now. Yes, we know he's going through a lot with these issues, and he's playing spectacular basketball, but we don't need this information being jammed into our brains time and time again. Therefore, I'd have to close this thread.
One more thing: worldchamps9903- Don't post the entire article. Just post a few paragraphs and than leave the link. Thanks.
