Driving and dunking and dropping in a 3-pointer, Kobe Bryant delivered a game's worth of highlights in the first quarter yesterday, outscoring the Washington Wizards all by himself.
Then he let his Los Angeles Lakers teammates join in all the fun.
Bryant put up 19 points in the opening period on his way to finishing with 30, and the Lakers ran their offense so well there was no need for the newly acquired Pau Gasol to don a uniform in a 103-91 victory over the host Wizards.
"Just taking what they were going to give me," said Bryant, an efficient 10 for 15 on field goals.
Gasol, the 7-foot Spaniard who came over from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade Friday, sat on the sideline in a pinstriped suit jacket, listening to tips on the Lakers' triangle offense from assistant coach Brian Shaw.
The 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year's new teammates put on quite a clinic, too, repeatedly making the extra pass to find wide-open looks. The Lakers compiled 27 assists on 41 field goals, with Vladimir Radmanovic scoring 15 points, Lamar Odom 14, and Ronny Turiaf 13.
Pistons 90, Mavericks 67 - Rasheed Wallace backed up his pregame talk with 21 points and nine rebounds, leading Detroit over visiting Dallas.
Wallace said the Pistons had to take advantage of the undersized Mavericks by going inside, and he did.
Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points on 3-of-18 shooting and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had their lowest scoring game of the season.
