HoopWatch

The Los Angeles Lakers won their first two assignments for the season, against the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors without superstar Kobe Bryant. Now, Bryant suited up for the first time since recovering from an anthroscopic surgery. And he displayed the brilliance of Kobe of old, perhaps even better, except maybe for a missed dunk midway in the third quarter. The effects of the surgery on his leaping prowess were clearly evident in that play. Bryant scored 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting with 6 assists and 4 rebounds to help his team win over the Seattle Supersonics, 118-112.

But the biggest hero of them all is French sophomore Ronny Turiaf, who swatted three shots, including two crucial ones in the final seconds. With the Sonics just down by four, Turiaf blocked two undergoal stabs from Seattle forwards Chris Wilcox and Rashard Lewis, which more than helped his team prevail for the win.

For the past two games, the Lakers displayed great, not just good, ball movement, the kind of teamwork that wins games for you. Almost all plays involved all five players on the floor in their offensive sets. This enabled them to erect an early 20 point lead in the first quarter, 33-13.

But Seattle superstar guard Ray Allen refused to give the game away, as he fired 15 of his 30 points in the third quarter, where they tied the Lakers at 77-all with a little over four minutes remaining in the third. The Sonics even led by as much as eight after that. However, the Lakers made a big run behind Turiaf’s two jumpers.

Lamar Odom continued his amazing display of fire power for Los Angeles as he contributed 28 points. Luke Walton added a career-high 20 points.

Allen paced Seattle with 30 points, but none in the pay-off period. Lewis added 28. (pic courtesy of yahoonba)