The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed star guard Kobe Bryant back into the starting lineup Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors. This was Kobe’s first game back in 8 months after tearing his achilles tendon back in April. Despite Kobe’s return, the Lakers fell to the Raptors by a final score of 106-94. The Raptors outscored the Lakers 3 out of the 4 quarters. The Lakers, as a group, got off to a slow start. Midway through the first quarter the Lakers trailed 15-4. They closed the margin and at halftime the Raptors only led 51-47.
Kobe had 5pts, 4reb, and 3ast. Jodie Meeks had 7pts and Gasol added 6pts to go along with 6reb at the break. Kobe’s timetable, in terms of minutes, was originally 20-25 set by Mike D’Antoni. One of the few encouraging parts of tonight’s game was that Kobe logged 28 minutes and seemed perfectly comfortable. He finished with 9pts, 8reb, and 4ast. Young added 19pts off the bench, Henry added 17pts, and Meeks dropped in 14pts for the Lakers. For the Raptors, Amir Johnson finished with 32pts and 10reb and DeMar DeRozan added 26pts, 5reb, and 5ast. At least, Laker fans can breathe a sigh of relief now that Kobe Bryant is back and healthy for the rest of the season.
