Bryant becomes youngest to reach 30,000 points

Source:Global Times Published: 2012-12-6 21:50:11

 

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo: AFP
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo: AFP

Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to reach 30,000 career points in the NBA on Thursday as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-87 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

With 1 minutes 16 seconds left in the second quarter, Bryant drove into the lane and rose to connect on a jump shot, taking his tally for the contest to 14 and for his career to 30,001.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Bryant said of becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419).

"It feels good," Bryant noted. "I've been very fortunate that I haven't really had any serious injuries. It's been a lot of sacrifice on my part and my family's part - a lot of time away and just working extremely hard."

At 34 years old, he's the youngest player in history to reach the milestone. Chamberlain was 35 years old, while Malone and Abdul-Jabbar were both 36 and Jordan 38.

However, Bryant was the fifth-fastest player in terms of games played to reach the milestone, achieving it in his 1,179th contest. Chamberlain got there in 941 games.

NBA Commissioner David Stern was on hand to see the feat, but Bryant was just as concerned that the Lakers reversed their recent fortunes with a victory.

He finished with 29 points and six rebounds as the Lakers ended a two-game skid. They bounced back from a disappointing loss at Houston - where they surrendered a double-digit fourth-quarter lead - to win for just the second time on the road this season.

Dwight Howard added 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Lakers.

"We came out much focused in the second half," Bryant said, praising Howard in particular. "We just kept on rolling."

Meanwhile, Jamal Crawford once again sizzled off the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers pounded the struggling Dallas Mavericks 112-90 with a commanding display on their home court.

Crawford scored a game-high 20 points while twice All-Star forward Blake Griffin weighed in with 19 points and 13 rebounds to help Los Angeles win their fourth successive game.

With forward Caron Butler contributing 16 points and point guard Chris Paul adding 14 along with 13 assists, six Clippers players reached double figures as the home team improved their record to 12-6.

"It's a lot of fun when you're winning and everyone's playing the right way and everyone's getting an opportunity," five-time All-Star Paul said after the Clippers tightened their hold at the top of the Western Conference's Pacific division.

"We feed off everybody's energy. There's no point having all this depth if we don't use it the right way, " he noted.

Agencies - Global Times

 



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