Los Angeles Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers ( LeBron 23 pts Kobe 20 pts ) January 19, 2009

Bryant and LeBron James tussled to a virtual standoff Monday night, but Bryant's supporting cast was far more effective, and that was the difference as the Lakers beat Cleveland 105-88 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes despite dislocating the ring finger on his shooting hand less than two minutes into the game.

"I just dove for the ball, and the finger just popped out,'' Bryant recalled afterward while wearing a splint on the injured finger. "I was scared, I thought I was done. It felt like I had two fingers on one, it was just disgusting. (Trainer) Gary (Vitti) just popped it back into place. Not fun.

"A lot,'' Bryant added when asked how much his finger bothered him during the game. "I played with some pain, obviously. I just tried to adjust as I went along, I just tried to play through it. It's just throbbing right now.''

Bryant, who shot 9-of-22, spoke to reporters just minutes after X-rays showed no fracture. He said he hadn't sustained this kind of injury before, and didn't believe he would miss any playing time.

"For a while, we thought he was just going to be a playmaker tonight, but the second half, he started feeling like he could shoot it,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, noting Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime.

Pau Gasol shot 11-of-13 and led Los Angeles with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each and Derek Fisher added 11 for the Lakers, whose 32-8 record is tops in the Western Conference.

James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8), who absorbed their most one-sided loss of the season.

"You've got to give the Lakers credit, they played a very good basketball game,'' Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I thought they were the aggressors tonight. I thought they got up in us and made us play quick. You have to give Kobe Bryant credit, I thought he played a whale of a game.''

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Los
• Angeles
• Lakers
• Cleveland
• Cavaliers
• LeBron
• James
• Kobe
• Bryant
• Staples
• Center
• MVP
• dunk
• crossover
• block
• playoffs
• january
• 19

[coralde19]

lbj wat 6'9?kobe 6'6 posting him up??and still hits the shot..kobe is way better than lbj!!thats the fact

[marrowh]

I like the sportsmanship between bryant and lebron. And james hasn't been in the league long enough to be better than kobe. He's a really good player, but kobe is great.

[pielover997]

@dekomondo no, lebron james is like 3 inches taller, look it up

[EasyBaby9]

dont be a fag, be a fan they are both great players! just be glad we have the chance to see their talents,

[ImBigAndProud]

@marrowh id pick wade over both of em

[gmoneydub]

Kobe dislocates his finger...and still kills Lebron!

[Berghammervoll]

I miss the Machine..

[Lebronkobe06280]

Lebron is better than kobe.

[dekomondo]

@coralde19 they are the same size - 2 meters both..

[2pacisthebest90]

KOBE IS BETTER.

[jorgelakers2416]

dam kobe schooled lebron !!!!!!!!!!

[sourdojack50]

lebron shited on lamar odom 1:38