Bryant becomes Lakers scoring leader in loss
Kobe Bryant scored 44 points, passing Jerry West as the Los Angeles Lakers' top career scorer, but it wasn't enough as the Memphis Grizzlies got 22 points and 17 rebounds from Zach Randolph to defeat the Lakers 95-93 on Monday night. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 25 points, and his three-pointer with 29.5 seconds left helped Memphis end its two-game losing streak. Ron Artest's three-point attempt from the right side bounced high off the rim as the horn sounded, snapping the Lakers' four-game winning streak. Bryant passed West's mark on a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. Bryant made 16 of 28 shots, including four of seven outside the arc. Artest added 18 points, while Pau Gasol had 10 points. "It's a great honour to say the least [because] of the great players that have played here and the tradition we have," Bryant said of becoming the Lakers' career leading scorer. "[West] taught me so much when I was 17 years old. He showed me a lot about the game, the jump shot and spin moves and all the others. "Even though it's me passing him in the record books, it's still us, and it's still Magic and all the other great players." Lester Hudson had 13 points for Memphis, and Marc Gasol finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis. While Bryant got the franchise record for scoring, the loss prevented Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Pat Riley as the winningest coach in regular-season games for Los Angeles. The two are tied at 533. The game was tied at 88 when Memphis ran the shot clock to near the end before Randolph made a 22-footer for a 90-88 lead with 1:08 left. His two free throws extended the lead to 92-88. Bryant scored on a drive before Gay's three-pointer with 29.5 seconds left gave Memphis a 95-90 lead, and the Grizzlies held on. Memphis got an unexpected offensive boost from Hudson, the rookie shooting guard who was picked up Jan. 8 off waivers from the Celtics. Hudson had 11 points — his career high — in the second quarter as Memphis extended the lead to 11 before carrying a 52-50 lead into the half as the Lakers outscored Memphis 11-2 to close the half. Memphis extended the lead to 11 again at the start of the third quarter as the Lakers missed eight of their first nine shots. Meanwhile, Randolph and Gasol were effective inside. But the Lakers narrowed the deficit again. Bryant's dunk to pass West's mark in the third quarter was part of a stretch where Los Angeles closed the quarter on an 18-6 run. Bryant actually had the ball for the last possession, and as he has done many times before, seemed set to carry the Lakers to victory. But Bryant had to give up the ball as the clock wound down and Memphis defenders surrounded him. "They had like three guys [on me]," Bryant said. "Ron was wide open in the corner. I'll take that look any time. It just went a little long."










