Villagers subdued

Hornets radio guy Sean Kelley observed tonight that "it takes a village to guard Kobe Bryant," and the way things went, it might have taken the whole darn county. The Hornets actually led by one at the half, but the combination of Third-Quarter Drought™ and a warmed-up Kobe proved to be disastrous: the Lakers were up 12 after the third, and they didn't miss a free throw until well into the fourth. Final: Lakers 111, Hornets 105.

How dominant was Bryant? Chris Paul had 28 points (and 10 assists), Tyson Chandler (!) had 22 points (and 21 rebounds), but no one noticed: Kobe scored 50 (by coincidence, 28 plus 22). It was his fourth consecutive game with 50 points or more, a trick not seen since Wilt the Stilt. Bryant made 16 of 29 field goals and all 16 of his free throws.

Oh, there was a double-double for the Lakers, too — Lamar Odom had 15 points and 10 boards — but no one noticed that either.

Next for the Bees: a three-game plague of Texans.

Posted at 9:29 PM to Net Proceeds