After his team dropped Game 1 of its Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets, LeBron James has been turning up the temperature in crunch time.
After helping the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-102 win and 2-1 series lead, James talked about how the team is looking to honor the memory of the late team legend Kobe Bryant.
“At the end of the day, we just hope we make him and his family proud.”
-LeBron James on honoring Kobe Bryant’s legacy pic.twitter.com/jkHWJcxn2H
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2020
“I know Coach [Frank] Vogel keeps on telling us that he is going to use the memory of Kobe Bryant to fuel this playoff run and continue to talk to the team about it,” James was asked right after the game. “How have you channeled that to motivate you through this run through the postseason in this most unique environment?”
“At the end of the day we just hope we make him and his family proud, and that’s all it’s about, and anybody that’s ever set foot and put on a Lakers jersey, we hope we make them proud as well,” answered James. “From Kobe all the way down to everybody that’s ever played in Los Angeles or been a part of the Los Angeles Lakers organization, that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s a tradition here, and it’s our responsibility, win, lose or draw, to hold that with the utmost responsibility and utmost respect.”
Bryant died in late January along with his daughter Gianna and seven others in a tragic helicopter crash. From time to time, James has talked about dedicating the rest of the season to the memory of the five-time NBA champ.
The Akron, Ohio native continued his stellar play in Game 3 with 36 points. He got plenty of help from Anthony Davis, who posted 26 points, 15 boards and six assists.
After a tight first half, the Lakers took control by clamping down on the Rockets defensively, holding them to just 38 points after halftime.
Veteran guard Rajon Rondo was the X factor for L.A., as he had 21 points and nine assists off the bench to propel the Lakers to the win.
