Kobe Bryant breezed through the Philadelphia 76ers locker room and said to no one in particular, “keep it going, guys”.
His homecoming game spoiled, Bryant said one final goodbye to Philly, where the Sixers are winless no more.
The 76ers said good riddance to the longest losing streak in major US professional sports – winless in 28 games dating to last season. And 0 for 18 to begin this one.
No more.
With the spotlight on Bryant during the final game of his career in his hometown, the Sixers stole the show and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 103-91 on Tuesday night for their first victory of the season.
The Sixers remain tied for the worst start in NBA history with the 2009/10 New Jersey Nets, who also opened 0-18.
It was the first win for the Sixers since March 25 at the Denver Nuggets.
Read more: Jonathan Raymond on Kobe Bryant, fading from a game that has rapidly evolved around him
“Finally,” forward Nerlens Noel said.
Coach Brett Brown’s team have long languished at the bottom of the NBA standings and reeled off two separate losing streaks of at least 26 games in his three seasons.
For one night, in front of a sellout crowd of 20,510 that came to cheer Bryant, the streaks hardly mattered.
“I’m pleased for the city,” Brown said. “We don’t want this streak continuing.”
Hours earlier, Bryant felt the love in Philadelphia as soon as he entered the arena.
He took selfies with fans who might never see him play again, and his presence injected a play-off atmosphere into a city that has lost much of its passion for NBA basketball.
With a packed crowd standing and roaring in appreciation, Bryant was lauded like a hometown hero, not the “Hometown Zero” he was once labeled in Philadelphia’s tabloids.
Bryant, who will end his 20-year career this season, opened the first leg of his farewell tour in his hometown and was feted with the kind of reverence and gratitude normally reserved for a Sixers great.
“I wasn’t expecting that type of reaction, ovation,” he said. “Deeply appreciative beyond belief. It was really, really special.”
Playing with the shot selection of a pickup artist, Bryant tried to deliver a special performance in his finale.
He buried a step-back three-pointer off the opening tip.
He hit another three on the next possession.
Bryant made it 3-for-3 and had the Philly crowd chanting “M-V-P!” as he turned back the clock to his championship form.
“It was a little spurt of old-school Kobe,” Noel said.
Bryant said he could tell the start made the Sixers a little starstruck – most were babies when he started his career.
“I could sense they were like ‘I really don’t want to touch him.’ ... ‘Is this going to be an 81 type of situation?’” Bryant said. “I’m just playing possum because I know my legs ain’t going to carry this energy for 48 minutes.”
Bryant scored 20 points on 7-of-26 shooting and made four threes.
By the fourth quarter, the Philly fans had turned their attention toward the home team, chanting “Beat LA!” when beleaguered rookie Jahlil Okafor made a layup for a 94-80 lead.
Okafor, the No 3 overall pick out of Duke University, has been attached to a string of off-court incidents that included reckless driving and a fight in Boston. Brown said Okafor, who has apologised for his recent decisions, will likely soon be accompanied by team security on public outings.
Bryant said he would simply tell the 19-year-old rookie to stay focused on basketball.
The Sixers stayed focused and finally finished the job after taking an 80-75 lead into the fourth.
The 76ers had led after three quarters three other times this season: November 21 at the Miami Heat (led 74-67, lost 96-91), November 25 at the Boston Celtics (led 62-57, lost 84-80) and November 29 at the Memphis Grizzlies (led 67-64, lost 92-84), according to STATS.
Robert Covington scored 23 points and Jerami Grant and Noel had 14 for the Sixers.
The win belonged to Philadelphia. The night belonged to Bryant.
Bryant’s homecoming
His homecoming game came with a rare emotional tug for the player fans loved to boo through the years. He waved to the crowd and bowed his head in appreciation as “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!’ chants filled Wells Fargo Center.
He was greeted at midcourt by his Lower Merion high school coach, Gregg Downer, and 76ers great Julius Erving. Bryant hugged both in front of a crowd filled with purple-and-gold No 24 Lakers jerseys.
He smiled after every shot and bantered with fans, some who made “Thank you, Kobe” signs.
In a reference to the sorry state of the entire Philly sports scene, one fan held a sign that read, “Why Can’t Chip Kelly Retire Instead” referring to the Philadelphia Eagles NFL coach.
Bryant even smirked in the third quarter when a brief scuffle broke out among Lakers centre Roy Hibbert, who appeared to push a referee, and Philadelphia’s Isaiah Canaan and JaKarr Sampson. All three were hit with technical fouls.
Bryant thumped his chest, waved to the fans, blew a kiss and was serenaded with “Kobe!” chants as he walked off Philadelphia’s court for the final time.
“You can’t script this stuff – I can’t,” he said. “The amount of respect and appreciation and adoration I have for the city and to be able to have this moment here just means everything to me.”
Elsewhere in the NBA
Washington Wizards 97, Cleveland Cavaliers 85
John Wall scored a season-high 35 points and Washington handed Cleveland their first home loss of the season.
The Wizards, who never trailed, scored the first 10 points of the game and went on a 9-0 run to begin the second half in snapping a four-game losing streak.
LeBron James had 24 points, but the Cavaliers lost for the first time in 10 games this season at Quicken Loans Arena.
Wall was 14-of-24 from the field and had 10 assists. Bradley Beal scored 18 and Marcin Gortat added 15 points with 11 rebounds for the Wizards.
Dallas Mavericks 115, Portland Trail Blazers 112 (overtime)
Deron Williams had a season-high 30 points and the Mavericks defeated the Trail Blazers in overtime in Wesley Matthews’s first trip back to Portland since signing with Dallas as a free agent.
Dirk Nowitzki added 28 points and Matthews finished with 18 in his return as the Mavs snapped a four-game losing streak on the road.
Nowitzki’s three-pointer narrowed it to 96-94 before his tip shot tied it, and Damian Lillard missed a three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. The Mavs outscored the Blazers 9-3 to open the extra period.
Lillard finished with 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Meyers Leonard had 23 points and Portland’s bench outscored the Dallas reserves 73-16.
Memphis Grizzlies 113, New Orleans Pelicans 104
Marc Gasol scored a career-high 38 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Memphis defeated New Orleans.
The Pelicans lost despite the return of starting guard Tyreke Evans and top reserve Norris Cole. Evans had 20 points and 10 assists, but that wasn’t enough to overcome a Grizzlies squad that scored 52 points in the paint and missed only one of 26 free throws.
Gasol was 11-of-22 from the field and made all 16 of his foul shots. Zach Randolph added 14 points, while Courtney Lee and Matt Barnes scored 13 each.
Anthony Davis had 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career high-equalling nine blocked shots for the Pelicans. But he struggled with his shooting, going 4-of-15 from the field and 8-of-13 on free throws.
Ryan Anderson scored 16 for New Orleans, who have lost three straight.
Orlando Magic 96, Minnesota Timberwolves 93
Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Orlando topped Minnesota for their fourth straight victory.
Elfrid Payton had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Andrew Nicholson scored 15 for the Magic, who have won four straight for the first time since December 2012.
Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves, but missed a free throw with 5.6 seconds to play that would have tied the game. Minnesota shot just 37.7 per cent and fell to 2-7 at home this season.
The Magic led by as many as 17 in the third quarter. Minnesota had it tied with 4:30 to play, but went 3:40 without a bucket late in the fourth.
Brooklyn Nets 94, Phoenix Suns 91
Brook Lopez scored 23 points and Brooklyn beat Phoenix for their fourth consecutive win at home.
Brooklyn reserves Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington each had 11 points and both made a basket in the brief flurry that helped the Nets win consecutive games for the first time this season. Jarrett Jack also scored 11 and added eight assists.
Brandon Knight scored 26 points and Eric Bledsoe had 17 for the Suns, who had a long dry spell from the field in the fourth quarter after leading by nine earlier in the period. They botched their final possession trailing by three with 4 seconds remaining.
The Suns fell to 1-1 on their six-game road trip.
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