Before the 104-98 victory, the Lakers’ first of the season, Kobe Bryant said his favorite thing about going the road was the hostility from fans.
“If you’re showing respect for what I’ve done,” he said, “show it that way.”
Instead, the crowd tensed every time he touched the ball, hushed when he rose to shoot, erupted gleefully when he made a basket.
Bryant overcame missing his first six shots to score 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting, while the Lakers also got valuable contributions from rookie D’Angelo Russell (16 points, three steals) and Metta World Peace, who changed the game defensively.