Wizards’ defensive stopper DeShawn Stevenson had the ultimate challenge Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. His job, described by Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, was to “limit the touches” of Kobe Bryant.
So much for strategy.
Six minutes and 25 seconds into the game, Stevenson was on the bench with three fouls and Bryant had 10 points.
And so it went Sunday at Verizon Center as the Wizards had no answer for the irrepressible Bryant, who scored 30 points to lead the Lakers to a routine 103-91 victory before a sellout crowd of 20,173 .
“He’s a hell of a player, so he’s gonna get the calls,” said Stevenson, who played just 18 minutes. “We let Kobe Bryant take us out of our game and we got our heads down. We gotta take those blows and come back, like we’ve done in a lot of games this year.”
The Lakers (30-16), on the longest road trip in franchise history (nine games), were playing their third game in four days and faced a dreaded noon starting time. But Bryant was brilliant in the opening quarter, scoring 19 points to stake a 30-15 lead for Los Angeles.
“I thought we caught them off guard a little bit,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. “I don’t know if it was the early game or what, but they just didn’t have the kind of rhythm they like to have in their offense. Kobe started off hot and got us the lead.”
Caron Butler was back in the lineup after missing three games with a strained hip flexor, but was tasked with guarding Bryant after Stevenson got in early foul trouble. Antawn Jamison (21 points, 11 rebounds) led the offense along with reserve guards Nick Young and Roger Mason (14 points each), but the Wizards couldn’t play catch-up on a day when the Lakers hit 56 percent from the floor.
“We were passive,” said Stevenson. “We stopped attacking that’s not like us.”
The Lakers did it without 7-footer Pau Gasol, acquired Friday in a trade with Memphis. Gasol was on the bench, but has not been cleared to play until others in the trade have passed physical examinations. It’s not like the Lakers missed him Sunday afternoon.
“We have grown a lot together,” said Bryant. “We understand how to play with each other. Chemistry and knowing where guys are is the key. We were moving the ball almost blindly today. We can get better.”
