Kobe, Lakers silence Thunder

It may not have been Kobe Bryant’s most dominant game of the season, but he played pretty well for a guy suffering from the flu.  Kobe scored 34 points and 7 rebounds as the Lakers defeated the scrappy Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center on Tuesday night by a 105-98 margin.  In the process, Kobe became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 23,000 points as he bested Wilt Chamberlain’s old mark.

Pau Gasol added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, and Lamar Odom continued his solid play in place of the injured Andrew Bynum with 12 points and 18 rebounds.  Oklahoma City was led by 2nd year phenom who posted a “double double” with 31 points and 10 rebounds, with 4 assists, 4 steals and a blocked shot to go with it.  Jeff Green added 16 for the former Seattle Supersonics squad, Russell Westbrook contributed 17 points and 9 boards, while Kyle Weaver chipped in for 11 points.

After the game, Kobe was humbled by the realization that he’d bested the mark of one of the game’s legends:

"It's always fun whenever you talk about the history of the game. It's always a tremendous honor."

He also said that the old “get plenty of rest and drink lots of water” cliché isn’t his preferred method of dealing with illness:

"I love playing. I'd much rather be out there moving around. I'd feel a lot worse if I was just laying down and not doing anything."

OKC coach Scott Brooks praised his team’s effort, despite falling short against what he called ‘the best team in basketball’:

“It was a good effort, but playing against the best team in basketball has to be a flawless effort," We did not have that, but we played hard. We came back in the second half and did a good job, really competing and contesting the shots. We made them miss shots. That is the best team in basketball. We competed with them."

The Lakers will play the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Wednesday to finish their pre-All Star break schedule.  They’ll get back to work next Tuesday at the Staples Center, hosting the Atlanta Hawks.  Oklahoma City travels to the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday for a game against the Blazers at Portland’s Rose Garden Arena to finish their schedule for the week.  They’ll be back in action next Tuesday as they host the New Orleans Hornets.