It seemed obvious the Lakers wanted to win their exhibition game against the Phoenix Suns and it also seemed obvious Kobe Bryant wanted to show the basketball world he is back and ready.
The Lakers may have lost, 114-108, to the Suns in overtime Tuesday night at the Honda Center, but they played to win and Bryant played to help them win.
Bryant returned to the game with 7:12 left in the fourth quarter, Carlos Boozer with 6:02 left in the fourth and center Jordan Hill with 43.3 seconds left in the fourth.
“I’m always encouraged,” Bryant said after he scored 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting. “We played well. We did a lot of great things. Defensively, we can really hold teams down and squeeze them.”
Bryant had eight points in the fourth quarter and four in overtime before he left with 2:38 remaining in the game.
Bryant may have been one-for-seven in the first half, but it was his show late in the fourth quarter, scoring eight consecutive points at one point.
Bryant knocked down a pull-up jumper over P.J. Tucker to tie the score at 88-88.
Bryant knocked down a jumper over Tucker again for a 90-88 Lakers lead.
After Isaiah Thomas made two free throws for a one-point Suns lead, Bryant went on the attack again, scoring again over Tucker for a 92-91 Lakers lead.
Then Bryant added two free throws for a 94-91 Lakers lead with 12.8 seconds left in the fourth that looked safe.
But Thomas made a free throw and then after Wesley Johnson missed two free throws with 9.5 seconds left in the fourth, Thomas made a jumper to tie the score at 94-94 to send the game into overtime.
“I experimented with moves every now and then during the course of the game,” said Bryant, who is not sure whether he will play in the Lakers’ back-to-back game Wednesday night against Portland in Ontario. “But when it’s money time, I just go to the bread and butter. That’s always there. When the regular season starts, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Lin returns
Jeremy Lin had missed the last three games with a sprained left and right ankle, but he played in his first game since Oct. 9 and was impressive.
Lin was a spark for the Lakers off the bench, scoring 15 points, handing out five assists and collecting four rebounds before fouling out with 11.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“I’m still trying to figure it out,” Lin said.
Injury update
Lakers Coach Byron Scott said point guard Steve Nash missed his third consecutive game because of a “tingly feeling” the 40-year-old has felt in his back since departing a game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 12.
Nash pulled himself out of that game after telling Scott he “just didn’t feel right.”
Nash played in just 15 games last season, missing the majority of them because of recurring nerve damage in his back.
“He’s just not ready right now,” Scott said. “There’s still that tingly feeling, or whatever it is, right now.”
Scott said rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson, who has missed the last three consecutive games with a strained left calf, “could probably” play against the Suns, but wasn’t going to play “just to give him another day to kind of get a little bit better.”…Scott said forward Ryan Kelly, who missed his latest game because of a strained right hamstring, “definitely probably won’t play in this preseason.” Kelly hasn’t played in any of the Lakers’ exhibition games.
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