Ron Artest missed what could have been the game-winning shot as time expired. Kobe Bryant (44 points), who went into the Lakers’ record books, was double teamed and forced to pass to Artest.
With the Grizzles being 17-6 at home the Lakers knew this was not going to be an easy game. Loosing this game meant the Lakers finished their trip with a 5-3 record.
With a dunk with 4:14 in the third quarter left, Kobe passed the Lakers very own Jerry West (25,192 points) to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
This Lakers loss prevented Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Pat Riley as the winningest coach in regular-season games for Los Angeles. The two are tied at 533.
Quotes:
“It was one of the most distracting third quarters I think I’ve ever coached. I think it was a variety of things that went wrong. We couldn’t get things going at the start. It seemed like this quarter took forever. Things went downhill. I had to call an early timeout. It ended up we gave up 18 points and they took the lead. We just didn’t sustain. We needed penetration.” – Phil Jackson
“It’s a great honor to say the least to be with all the great players and the rich tradition that we have. It’s a great accomplishment. [Jerry West] taught me so much when I was 17 years old. He taught me a lot about the game and the rules and on and on. It’s me passing him in the record books, but I feel like it’s us. It’s still Magic [Johnson], it’s still all of the other great players.” – Kobe Bryant
“Yeah, I thought I had a good look at it. It felt good. I’m looking forward to more looks like that. It was a good pass. It’s hard to be in a situation like that. It was good that Kobe [Bryant] passed the ball. I’ll know what to expect next time. I thought it was good. Next one will go in.” – Ron Artest
February 2, 2010
2:13 am
kas
wow i wish you didn’t pass it to RON he is a good player but that was one of many game winning shots.
February 2, 2010
5:22 am
matty24
It’s okay, We can beat them later!
February 2, 2010
11:15 am
Brandon LaVelle
Why Kobe!? WHYYYYYY!!!???? You’re the closer! U shou’dve took that shot!!!! Oh well Congrats on the leading scorer in Lakers History!!!
February 2, 2010
11:20 am
martinamalka
We should have had that one, and everyone knows it, too. It’s okay, it was a long road trip, and we are the champs!
February 4, 2010
7:49 am
husrev
really you are best kobe you are best