December 5, 1999
TIM KAWAKAMI , Times Staff Writer

Kobe Bryant did not start, but, yes, he finished.

He finished with an improvisational scoring flurry,
with a spectacular block of a Scottie Pippen
layup, with frenetic defense on tiny guard Damon
Stoudamire and just about single-handedly
finished the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

Coming off the bench, and coming just in the nick
of time, Bryant led the Lakers to a 93-80 victory
before 18,997 at Staples Center, conjuring golden
moments out of what was mostly a sluggish
rivalry matchup.

Bryant said playing in such a high-energy, high-emotion game was a
cathartic experience for him after the layoff.

"God, I had a headache I was so excited," Bryant said. "My head was
literally throbbing. The first half, I felt like I was on speed or something. I
couldn't calm down. . . .

"I feel like my hands are shaking right now."

In only his second game back after a seven-week layoff, Bryant, in case
there was a doubt, is back.

And in case there was a doubt or a moment's hesitation or anything that
even suggested anything else: The Lakers did and do need him back.

With Shaquille O'Neal held to 21 points, 7.7
below his average, by the Trail Blazers' big and
athletic lineup, the Lakers (13-4) struggled to
score for much of the game.

But Ron Harper scored 18 points and Bryant,
who played the final 20 minutes, injected the
crucial energy.

Bryant scored 23 points--13 in the final
quarter--and grabbed eight rebounds.

The most critical play was on defense, with
Portland having closed the lead in the fourth
quarter to five points, 79-74, after Detlef
Schrempf's transition three-pointer with just
over three minutes to play.

Pippen got the ball in the open court, and raced
to the basket.

But instead of a layup to cut it to three, Pippen's shot was rejected by
Bryant's left hand, the crowd roared, and the emotional tide was turned.

"He's full of energy," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said, "and we saw a little
opportunity to run some things for him at the end of the game--screen-roll,
and he took advantage of it, went to the basket, got a couple of fouls, gave
us the spark, pushed us over the edge."

Most of this game was a grueling, scrambling, elbow-in-the-chest grudge
match--the Lakers lost last month in Portland, but came to this game with
ferocious defensive intensity, if not great shooting touch.

"It was big to defend our home court, show them no matter what you guys
do up in Portland, come down here, this is our home court and we're going
to defend it," Bryant said. "It's important to show the fans that too, that we
take pride in the home court. This is our house."

There were not many sustained periods of high-quality play, until the
Bryant display late in the game.

"That was like a heavyweight fight out there the first half, a lot of clenching
and grabbing and a lot of missed shots and the defenses feeling each other
out, kind of getting a feel for each other the first few rounds," Jackson said.

"But I think the second half, we came out and
played with a different purpose."

At one point in the fourth, Bryant scored five
consecutive points--on a left-handed layup, a tip
and a free throw, moving the Laker lead from
seven points to 12.

"It was the Laker defense," Schrempf said. "I
mean, I don't think you can fault our defense.
Our offense, God, it's atrocious."

Without dominance from O'Neal, the Laker
offense wobbled in the first half, L.A. making
only 27.9% of its field-goal attempts.

Bryant played the final 14 minutes of the half, grabbing five rebounds and
matching up with Pippen, Schrempf and Steve Smith, but also putting up
one airball and making only one of his six shot tries.

"I like the unpredictability that he has at the guard position," Jackson said
of Bryant's role in the Laker offense. "Because he's not going to go by the
book, so sometimes the unpredictability can work to our advantage."

Meanwhile, other than Stoudamire's 14-point first-quarter burst, Portland
found it no easier to score, managing only 30% shooting and 11 points in a
fierce defensive second quarter as the Lakers took a 37-36 halftime lead.