At Only 19, Lakers’ Bryant Hits Big ‘30’

It came with a considerable degree of nonchalance, which says more about his game in general than his game Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant had a career high in points for the second time in as many outings, following the 27 on Friday against the Houston Rockets with 30 in the Lakers’ 119-89 thrashing of the Dallas Mavericks before 15,893 at the Forum. And he shrugged.

“It’s nice,” Bryant said of the feat.

Nice.

“It’s cool.”

Cool.

Acceptable for the time being. A decent accomplishment, stringing the best offensive performances of his young NBA career together like that. Since he happened to be in the building anyway. Might as well.

Sunday’s came as he made 12 of 21 shots, after going eight of 15 versus the Rockets, and as he scored 14 points in a fourth quarter during mostly garbage time and as he heard calls from the fans to unabashedly go for the 30. He almost listened too much--”I felt like winding up and clearing out a side”--before backing off and trying to get his shots within the offense, then made it anyway.

It was another bit of perspective that produced the ho-hum attitude. The same one most of those same fans have had for a while, the one that the Laker organization has from the start.

That this was nothing.

“I’m going to be here a long time,” said Bryant, 19, who over the last four games has averaged 24 points and shot 50.8%. “I’m going to set some more career highs. It’s fun, though.”

Given how the Lakers have struggled in the past against teams that like to play as if speed bumps were on the court, stepping into the trap and rushing shots in an attempt to accelerate the pace, they were probably as relieved as the fans to see that the Mavericks decided against stall ball. Coach Don Nelson didn’t even try to bluff with it at the start--the 27 points by the Lakers was their most for an opening quarter since Dec. 3 at Denver.

This was in direct contrast to what transpired Friday in Salt Lake City. Or what didn’t. The Mavericks worked the shot clock as though they were squeezing the last bit from a toothpaste tube, consistently running it down to the final seconds before shooting, which was about the only running that took place. By the fourth quarter, Jazz fans were booing Maverick possessions.

Chances are it wasn’t a one-time thing, given Nelson’s propensity for stirring the pot of common basketball (see: Patrick Ewing bringing the ball upcourt) and the fact that the Mavericks need to compensate for playing without a center as Shawn Bradley remains sidelined indefinitely because of a torn calf muscle.

But it was a first-time thing, Dallas having scored 105, 106, 92 and 90 points in the previous four games, after Nelson came down from the front office to replace Jim Cleamons as coach.

The Lakers followed the 27 points in the first quarter by getting 31 in the second, worth a 58-43 cushion at halftime, as the Mavericks seemed more than willing to play without a foot on the breaks. In fact, Dallas managed six more attempts before intermission, so far behind because of the 37.5% shooting against the Lakers’ 57.1%.

“I was glad to see Dallas come out and play,” Laker Coach Del Harris said after his team finished the game at 57.3%. “They could have made a closer game of it if they had played stall ball.”

The Laker lead never dipped below 12 after halftime and increased to 21 on several occasions in the third quarter. The rout continued from there, the advantage getting as big as 32 points late in the fourth and resulting in a cruise to the finish for the second consecutive home game and additional momentum for the tough five-game trip that starts Tuesday at Minnesota.

That being the greatest irony of all, the Lakers wondered if they would get a walk-it-up game but in the end wound up with a running start for the weeks ahead. Cool.

*

* Seattle: 107

* Clippers: 101

Guard Gary Payton had 21 points and 14 assists to lead Seattle past the Clippers. C10

* NBA ROUNDUP

Bryant Reeves led Vancouver to an upset over Houston. C10