Kobe cools off, finishes with 23 points in crushing defeat

LOS ANGELES -- The Memphis Grizzlies were determined to keep Kobe Bryant from having a second big game against them in a span of six days.

They couldn't have imagined being so successful.

Not So Hot
Kobe Bryant: First game vs. opponent after scoring 60+ points
Team	High Score	Next Meeting
Raptors	81	31
Blazers	65	Next Season
Mavericks	62	24
Grizzlies	60	23

Bryant's string of outstanding games came to an ugly end, and rookies Tarence Kinsey and Rudy Gay led the lowly Grizzlies to a shocking 88-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Bryant, who had scored at least 40 points in five straight games, including 50 in the first four, shot 7-of-26 and scored only 23. He made 53.2 percent of his field goal attempts, including half of his 3-point shots in those previous five games.

"They played a box, and I haven't seen that since high school," Bryant said. "Other than that, I was able to raise up and get good looks at the basket. It just didn't go in for me."

Bryant scored 60 points to lead the Lakers past the Grizzlies 121-119 at Memphis last Thursday. He also had games of 65, 50, 50 and 43 points in his last five.

"Nobody likes to get 60 scored on them by any player," said Gay, who had 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

"Even though I'm a rookie, I'm a man," said Kinsey, who scored five of his career-high 24 points in the final minute. "It hurt my pride, it hurt everybody's pride."

Junior Harrington had 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Pau Gasol added 10 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Grizzlies, whose 18-54 record is the NBA's worst, as is their 6-30 road record.

Luke Walton scored 15 points, Smush Parker added 14 and Sasha Vujacic 11 for the Lakers (38-33), whose season-high five-game winning streak ended. Lamar Odom had 16 rebounds and 11 assists to go with three points.

Elias Says

Bryant Kobe Bryant made his first three field-goal attempts on Tuesday night, accounting for the Lakers' first seven points. But he shot 4-for-23 from the floor thereafter as the Grizzlies shocked the Lakers 88-86 at Staples Center. And that invoked The Cold Kobe Coda: the Lakers have now lost 15 of the 16 regular-season games in which Bryant has had at least 20 field-goal attempts and has made less than 30 percent of them. • Read more Elias Says.

The Lakers shot just 33-of-96 (34.4 percent) while the Grizzlies shot 37-of-84 (44 percent).

"It was one of the poorest shooting efforts we've had this season," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "At some point, I felt like the team was relying on Kobe to do all the scoring, and no one could pick it up once they kind of figured he wasn't going to make shots."

The Grizzlies won despite playing without Mike Miller, Damon Stoudamire and Chucky Atkins, who are averaging a combined 39 points. Miller and Stoudamire have patella tendinitis -- Miller in both knees, Stoudamire in his right knee -- and Atkins has a strained groin.

Starting Lakers center Kwame Brown (sprained left ankle) and backup Maurice Evans (sore right knee) sat out as well.

Bryant made his first three shots of the game, but missed 15 of his next 16 before scoring from long range with 11 minutes to play. He scored his last five points in the final 10 seconds, but that wasn't enough for the Lakers.

A 3-pointer by Walton with 1:15 remaining tied the game at 81, but Kinsey made a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left to put the Grizzlies ahead for good.

Two free throws by Kinsey with 13 seconds to play made it 86-81, but Bryant made a 3-pointer and two foul shots around a free throw by Gasol to make it a one-point game.

Hakim Warrick's foul shot with 6.5 seconds left completed the scoring. After a timeout, Parker missed a 3-pointer from the right corner that could have put Los Angeles ahead. Bryant got the rebound, but Gasol blocked his 15-footer, ending the Lakers' last hope.

"I got the chance to be there and make it happen," Gasol said of his third block of the game. "It felt good, definitely."

Bryant called Gasol a phenomenal player.

"I've followed him since he came over to the NBA and I've always been a big fan of his," Bryant said.

Harrington had seven points in the third quarter as the Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 27-15 for a 68-63 lead. Bryant missed all six shots he attempted, being held to two free throws in the period.

Bryant scored the game's first five points and had nine of his team's first 11 in the opening 5 1/2 minutes. But he shot 1-of-9 for three points during the remainder of the first half.

The Lakers led 27-15 entering the second quarter and by as many as 15 points in the period before settling for a 49-41 halftime lead.

Game notes
Bryant sat out nearly four minutes at the beginning of the second quarter -- more time than he took off in the previous two games combined. He played the entire second half. ... The Grizzlies are the only NBA team that hasn't won consecutive games this season. They were winless in 20 games against teams who play in the Pacific, Southwest and Central Divisions before this win. ... Parker started his 152nd consecutive game -- the most by a Laker since Rick Fox started 153 straight from Nov. 22, 2000, to April 17, 2002. Parker has started every game since joining the Lakers at the beginning of last season. ... The Lakers are 34-12 against the Grizzlies, but Memphis has won eight of the last 11 games between the teams.