Go Kobe

If the Palace wasn't full with Kobe Bryant in town Wednesday night, the likelihood of a sellout happening this season appears remote.

Bryant and the defending champion Lakers made their only visit of the season, and on the second game of a back-to-back, Bryant was in MVP form, scoring 33 points to lead the Lakers to a 103-90 victory.

It was all Kobe all the time, as chants of "MVP" rang through the Palace.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I'm disappointed," said coach John Kuester of the chants. “This is our building. I was here in 2004 when we won the championship. There were some of our fans here too."

Bryant: “I remember coming here in 2004 and ’05 and this place was electric."

Tayshaun Prince, who scored 13, said he wasn’t surprised of the chants.

“It happened last year; it happened the year before,’’ said Prince. “The Lakers are a good team. They find a way of getting the things they want. There are no excuses. It wasn’t because of the West Coast trip and playing three games in four nights. Guys didn’t play a lot of minutes so we shouldn’t be tired. My body feels good. They were the better team tonight. We have a couple of days to practice and get a good feeling about ourselves."

Bryant played just 31 minutes and 44 seconds, making 11 of 20 field goal attempts, shooting 3-for-6 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the foul line, while grabbing nine rebounds and handing out four assists.

At times it appeared as if there were more Lakers fans in the crowd than the Pistons' faithful.

“That’s what Kobe does," said Ben Gordon, who scored eight points, but made just 3 of 11 shots. “He’s the greatest player in the world. When you play against him you have to bring your 'A' game. We weren’t even close to our 'A' game."

Richard Hamilton didn't see much of Bryant's offensive display. The Pistons' starting guard was tossed with 7:01 left in the first quarter after being hit with two technical fouls after picking up his second foul against Bryant.

Plenty of gold and purple jerseys, hats and signs were spotted in the crowd and when Bryant drained a triple and maneuvered his way to the basket there was plenty of cheers for the five-time NBA champion, a far cry from 2004 when he was booed at every turn when the Pistons claimed their third title in a dismantling of the Lakers in five games.

Bryant scored 24 points in the first half, making eight of 11 field goal attempts and giving the Lakers a 55-43 lead.

"Kobe was all business tonight,'' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "I think Kobe comes in and looks at this building and the guy who are still here from that (2004) team; he's probably still motivated by it."

Much to the chagrin of the Pistons.

“They came out and got comfortable and they were hitting shots," said Kuester. “We struggled early and they blitzed us and we got it as close as three. We didn’t have the focus we needed at the start of the third quarter. When you’re playing a great team, or any team that we’re playing, our margin for error is small. We have to focus every play, every possession."


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Bryant's triple-double helps Lakers stay unbeaten

SACRAMENTO – In a quiet moment last week, a close friend named Derek Fisher noted about Kobe Bryant's right knee: "I don't think he's as far off as some people think."
Indeed.

The Lakers' Derek Fisher (2), left and the Sacramento Kings' DeMarcus Cousins (15) right, battle for the ball in the first half in Sacramento.

Bryant showed his recuperative powers Wednesday night with a triple-double, lifting the Lakers to a 5-0 start to this season. The Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 112-100, behind Bryant's 30 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists
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Bryant's 17th career triple-double came after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (37,492) for the most minutes played in Lakers history in the game's opening minutes. Bryant is in his 15th Lakers season, a record by one season over Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

Bryant's next milestone likely will come in the next game Friday against Toronto. He is four field goals behind West (9,016) for second place in Lakers history. Abdul-Jabbar, the league's all-time leading scorer, is first (9,935).

The Lakers overcame their second half of their first back-to-back set of the season and a Sacramento team hyped up for a rare ESPN appearance. They did it with uncommon composure: They had six turnovers, tying their low from all of last season — and they only had that many because they had three in the fourth quarter. Bryant had his first turnover very near the end of his 37-minute outing.

Lamar Odom aggravated his sprained left thumb in the third quarter. It was hurt originally late in training camp, but after a timeout Wednesday night Odom stayed in the game and finished with another big-time effort — 18 points and eight rebounds — to complement Pau Gasol's 22 points and 10 rebounds.

It was Fisher, Bryant's longtime teammate, who made sure Bryant's big night would not come in a defeat. Fisher redeemed a missed foul shot and then missed 3-point shot by hitting a 3-pointer in rhythm soon after. He also had a steal and a transition three-point play for a 13-point lead with 3:14 to play.

The Lakers were outscored in the paint, 52-46, by the Kings, but the Lakers continued their excellent 3-point shooting this season: They came in at 45.6 percent and made 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) Wednesday night.