Preview: Bryant, Lakers Meet Kings Again

The 1st place Lakers look to extend their winning streak to 4 tonight as they meet the Sacramento Kings for the 2nd time in less than 5 days.

Kobe Bryant, LAL SG

The Lakers were able to overcome 3 quarters of sub-par play to steal a victory on March 4th as Kobe Bryant took his personal rivalry with the Sacramento Kings to a new height, scoring 17 of his 34 points in the 4th quarter.

The difference between this and Kobe’s other breath-taking performances in Sacramento? The serenading “MVP!” chants Bryant heard. “It’s better than hearing cowbells,” Kobe said after the game. “That was a trip. It felt great, though. I don’t got to worry about nobody poisoning my burger now. I can eat in peace.”

“We know what he’s capable of doing. I know he can take over games. He’s so gifted athletically and skill-wise,” said Pau Gasol who earned his first career victory at Arco Arena. “He’s got a tremendous passion inside him. The way he attacked tonight, it was the kind of effort we need every night.”

Gasol kept the Lakers in the game through the opening 3 periods, as he finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 10-15 shooting performance from the field.

The Lakers are fresh off of a 119-82 beatdown of the Los Angeles Clippers. As a team, LA knocked down 12 of 17 shots from downtown en route to their 13th victory in 14 attempts.

“I think what we did is that we stepped up our pressure,” Kobe Bryant said. “Try to make them play at our pace, or execute things that they are not used to doing, and our shooters knocked down some big shots to blow the game open.”

Kobe Bryant scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, as he only played 31 minutes.

“They’re a good team. They have the best player in the world (Bryant) on their team,” said Clippers Center Chris Kaman.

Kings Starting 5: