Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images
After eight grueling months of rehab, Kobe Bryant finally stepped on to the court for the 2013-2014 NBA season and shook off some of the rust (and doubt?) from his Achilles tear. Luckily, the comeback was at home in front of an energetic Los Angeles crowd, who cheered Bryant through a 106-94 loss at the hands of the Toronto Raptors.
Kobe ended his first game back with 9 points, 4 assists and 8 turnovers, but the Lakers were led by the efforts of Amir Johnson (32 points) and Nick Young (19 points) on Sunday. Even though at times the Black Mamba looked out of sync and struggled to find the range on his shot, the fact that this was his first time playing with some of his teammates, probably added to the rust he was trying to play through.
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The Raptors took home the road win and snapped a five game losing streak even with a depleted team, which traded the talents of Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings, as part of the seven-player deal reported earlier today.
Without Gay, Kyle Lowry & DeMar DeRozan flourished, scoring 23 & 26 points respectively.