EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 21, 2016 Page 5 The Duality of the Mamba By Adam Serrao It was 20 years ago that Kobe Bryant came into to the NBA out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever. 20 years later, the battered and bruised Bryant has finally called it quits and given up the game that he loves so much. Last Wednesday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, people paid exorbitant amounts of money to bid their farewell to one of the greatest Lakers of all time. In absolutely true Kobe fashion, the future Hall of Famer did not disappoint. The Black Mamba ended the game with 60 points, an amount that has never been totaled by some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Just like the snake in the Garden of Eden who - like the Mamba’s performance - at first appears to be good, there remains to be an underlying presence of dreadfulness in what was his final presentation, as well. At first glance at the stat sheet, anyone who saw that Kobe put up 60 points in his final effort ever in the Purple and Gold would simply be amazed. It was Bryant’s first 50-point effort since February of 2009, leading the five-time champion and 18-time All-Star relatively speechless, himself. “It’s hard to believe it happened this way,” Bryant said. “I’m still shocked about it.” Not only did Kobe put up 60, but he led his team back from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Utah Jazz in what was his and his team’s final game of the season. Not a bad way to end the year, even if it was the franchises worst ever in the history of their existence. With 59 seconds remaining in the game and jam-packed Staples Center crowd on their feet, Bryant made a three-pointer to bring the Lakers to within just two points. If you thought the crowd was loud then, imagine the noise bouncing off of the rafters when Kobe hit yet another jumper from downtown, this time with 31 seconds remaining in the game to give the Lakers the lead at 97-96. When the game was finally in hand, head coach Byron Scott called a timeout and pulled Bryant to raucous cheer and applause from the crowd for the last time. Just like old times, Kobe rallied from behind, made clutch shots as time wound down, and won the game for the Lakers. “The perfect ending would have been a championship,” Bryant said, smiling. “But tonight was me trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time.” By putting on a show - a show that looked somewhat messy at various times throughout the night - Kobe breathed a breath of fresh air into the mouths of all of the “Kobe haters” across the nation. “Forty-two minutes and 50 attempts will get you 60, apparently,” said Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz, who “guarded” Bryant all night. 50 shot attempts was the most attempts Bryant had ever taken in his entire career. He hit 22 of those 50 attempts, to shoot 44 percent from the field. In his 42 minutes of play, Bryant only came down with four rebounds and four assists to round out his stat line for the night. The next highest scoring player on the team that night was Jordan Clarkson, who finished with 12. No other Laker scored, rebounded or assisted in the double digits. The night was truly all about Bryant, and even the Utah Jazz knew that. Before the game had even started, the Jazz knew that they were eliminated from this year’s playoff race. To start the game, however, they showed their usual tenacity that led them to being this year’s ninth place team in the Western Conference (the Lakers were 15th and second worst in the league). Their defense caused Bryant to miss his first five shots of the game, typical of a 37-year-old who previously could barely walk. At halftime, the jazz led by 15 points, their highest margin of the game. Suddenly in the second half, however, Utah scored their two lowest point totals of the game, (18 in the third quarter, 21 in the fourth) while allowing the Lakers to score their two highest point totals of the game (24 and 35). In the fourth quarter alone, Bryant added 23 points. I’m not saying the Jazz stopped playing because they had nothing to play for, but the Jazz stopped playing because they had nothing to play for. As the referees swallowed their whistles and like the Jazz, watched Kobe Perform, Bryant was well on his way to becoming the first player to take 50 shots from the field in a game since Rick Barry on February 5, 1967. Either way, 60 points in a final game at the age of 37 is no easy task. In doing so, Kobe became the oldest player in NBA history (37 years, 234 days) with 60 in a game, more than five years older than Wilt Chamberlain, who is the only other player to ever accomplish the feat after his 32nd birthday. Kobe has six games in his career with 60 points or more. Only Chamberlain had more (32). While Bryant’s game would have been much more impressive if he got other players on the team involved, allowed another player to shoot the ball, or had Utah playing actual defense as they did in the first quarter, his eventual output was impressive, nonetheless. Bryant’s last game was a true Hollywood ending to a career that was truly Hollywood, in itself. Bryant never prided himself on being anything more than one of the greatest scorers and fiercest competitors that this game has ever seen. Now that his final game is complete, so Eagles Looking Good in League Play By Gregg McMullin With the Ocean League schedule underway El Segundo is at or near the top in baseball, softball, boys’ volleyball and the lacrosse teams. With the teams’ great play it looks as if the post season could be a reality in all sports though we might be getting ahead of ourselves. With this the second year of a four year cycle, the Eagles will play in the Ocean League, gives the confidence and poise each team is showing in staying atop the standings. Baseball The Eagles got past a pesky Beverly Hills team to go 2-0 and sit atop the Ocean League standings heading to this week. In the Eagle’s 9-5 win they combined a pair of four run innings to help them get past the Normans. Sean Emery led the Eagles by hammering a bases clearing triple and accounting for three RBIs and scoring once. Griffen Martes was 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored twice. Wyatt Boyce started and threw five innings and gave up just two hits. Boyce did give up four runs but none earned to pick up the win. In El Segundo’s 7-5 win the Eagles survived a first inning that could have gotten out of hand. Eagle starter Albert Galicia gave up singles to four of the first five Norman batters and just like that the Eagles trailed 2-0. But sparkling defensive plays helped limit the damage. In the second inning CJ Shevlin and Nico Celestial had back to back singles and Kobe Estrada hit a sacrifice fly to narrow the score to 2-1. In the third inning Jake Palmer, Martes singled followed by a walk to Spencer Long. Palmer scored on a balk, Martes scored on an RBI single by Emery and Long scored on an RBI single by Shevlin to make it 4-2. In the fourth inning Beverly Hills pounded out three hits but the Eagle’s defense held them to one run. El Segundo responded with another three-run inning of their own to make it 7-3. Estrada reached on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice while Martes and Long each had RBI singles. The Normans made it interesting by scoring a run in the fifth inning. Then in the seventh inning Galicia surrendered back to back singles and was replaced by Garrett Boyce. Beverly Hills scored a run on an error but Boyce got the next three hitters including a strike out to end the game and pick up the save. This week the Eagles faced Culver City this past Tuesday at home and today on the road. This two game series is key to the Eagles Ocean League title hopes since the Centaurs have demonstrated they have pitching depth. Next week the Eagles entertain Hawthorne’s surging program on Tuesday. Softball The softball team is currently ranked tenth in the latest CIF-SS polls. They have played well at times and lacked the consistency at others to play to their ability. They faced Peninsula in a non-league double-header and split with the Panthers winning 6-3 See Eagles, page 6 PROMOTE YOURSELF K E E P I N G I T L O C A L ! Classified And B & P Pricing All Ads Go In All Our Papers! We take Visa and MasterCard, checks and cash. Always include a phone number with your submission. Payment must be received, before ad is published. CLASSIFIEDS The deadline for classified copy and payment is NOON on Tuesday. We reserve the right to reject, edit, and determine proper classification of classified ads. Email ad copy to: class@heraldpublications.com. 1 Time 2 Times 3 Times 4 Times 3 lines $40 $50 $60 $70 4 lines $45 $55 $65 $75 Need more lines? Additional line charge of $5 per line CERTIFIED BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL (B & P) ADS Six months: $450 One year: $700 We will create your B & P ad for you, at no additional cost. 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