The Cleveland Cavaliers made a valiant comeback attempt at the Staples Center on Friday night, but in the end, a heavy dose of Kobe Bryant helped the Los Angeles Lakers hold on for a 97-92 win.
The Cavs were playing their third game in four days at the end of a West Coast road swing and looked quite road weary in the first half, falling behind 59-41at the half. But to their credit, the young Cavs kept grinding away and worked their way back into the game, cutting the lead to three points at 82-79 midway through the fourth quarter.
But then Bryant reeled of five of his 42 points to keep the Cavs at bay and help the Lakers hold on for the win. Bryant had quite a night scoring his 42 points by making 15 of 31 field goals including four three-pointers and 8 of 10 free throws. The Laker legend's ailing wrist appears to be doing just fine considering this was his third 40-point game in a row as Los Angeles increased their current winning streak to five games.
Bryant had a little help along the way, as well. Forward Pau Gasol chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds while center Andrew Bynum added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cavs were led by rookie point guard Kyrie Irving who had another strong showing with 21 points and 4 assists. Anderson Varejao added 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The four-game swing out west was part of a larger seven-game road trip the Cavs are playing through which ends on Monday afternoon at Charlotte.
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