Cavaliers Beat Lakers 120-108 In L.A. In Kobe And LeBron’s Final Meeting

Thursday night’s final matchup between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James turned out to be very one-sided in terms of both the result and the individual lines for both superstars. It’s difficult to compare the two players in a certain sense, given that Bryant is a little over a month from retirement, whereas James is likely to make his sixth-straight NBA Finals this spring. It was initially unconfirmed whether Bryant would play up until just a few hours before the game, given he had recently sustained a shoulder injury.

Cavaliers Beat Lakers 120-108 In LA In Kobe And LeBron’s Final Meeting

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 120-108 at the Staples Center in L.A. on Thursday night. The Cavs seemed to lead comfortably for most of the second half.

Nevertheless, Kobe, 37, delivered a spectacular scoring game. He converted over half his field goal attempts for the first time since January 23 to score 26 points. Bryant played aggressively throughout the game, shooting several three-pointers.

LeBron added 24 points for Cleveland, including 9 of 18 field goal attempts, and seven assists while Kyrie Irving led the Cavs in scoring with 26 points, including 11 of 20 field goals. Deadline pickup Channing Frye also played a strong game, in fact his best game with the Cavs, putting up 21 points. Frye replaced injured power forward/center Kevin Love.

On the Lakers side, youngster D’Angelo Russell, 20, also delivered a strong performance, particularly on offense.

In the end, the big story of the night was the final meeting between Bryant and James. Unsurprisingly, the two-time Olympic teammates exchanged a hug after the final buzzer.

“We love the lights. We get up for the big moments. … I wish I could play against him every night.” LeBron said about Kobe following the game.

Caption: LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 10: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers backs in on LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Staples Center on March 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.