With the game on the line, the future Hall of Famer let the kids go at it, and they delivered.
With D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle heating up, Kobe Bryant told head coach Byron Scott to keep him out of the game, instead letting the current unit finish off the comeback. Russell, in particular, rose to the moment by scoring 21 of his career-high 23 points in the second half, including a game-tying, off-balance seven-footer that he kissed off the glass while draped by Andrew Wiggins with 2.2 seconds left.
However, Russell and Roy Hibbert each missed opportunities to win the game in overtime, as L.