» SIXERS TAKE DOWN WARRIORS IN PHILLY
PHILADELPHIA — Wearing a pair of camouflaged Kobe sneakers, Warriors forward Draymond Green set the ball down and watched 24 seconds tick away on the shot clock as chants of “Kobe” swelled within Wells Fargo Center.
In the first game played in Kobe Bryant’s hometown since his helicopter crashed in Calabasas on Sunday, killing him, his 13year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others, the Warriors’ 115-104 loss to the 76ers on Tuesday night held more significance as a tribute to Bryant than its impact on the league standings.
Though much of Bryant’s formative years were spent in Italy, he was born in Philadelphia where his father, Joe Bryant, played for the 76ers for four years in the late 70s. As a teenager, he returned to Pennsylvania to attend Lower Merion High School and led the Aces to the 1996 state championship before going straight to the NBA, where he played 20 years and won five championships.
With Bryant’s No. 33 Aces jersey was displayed at midcourt, a sold-out crowd of 20,854 honored Bryant with 33 seconds of silence.
After both teams took violations to start the game — an 8-second and a 24-second violation — the first several possessions were played without the heavy bass of music that usually fills NBA arenas.
“The beginning of the game, it didn’t feel like it was a game,” said guard D’Angelo Russell, who was a rookie with the Lakers during Bryant’s final season in 2016. “A few minutes into it you start to snap back into it, but it was weird.”
The somber contest was void of the usual pregame ritual of player introductions and hype videos. Instead, a video of Bryant’s final introduction at Wells Fargo Center in 2016 played on the Jumbotron. Teary-eyed players lined up on the court as saxophonist Mike Phillips held the high note of “The Star Spangled Banner” for 24 seconds.
As far as the game itself, the Warriors (1038) finished the first three quarters trailing by four, before the 76ers (31-17) used a 9-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to push their lead to 13.
Center Joel Embiid, who swapped his usual No. 21 for Bryant’s No. 24, led the 76ers with 24 points.
Embiid was granted permission from Hall of Famer Bobby Jones to wear the retired No. 24 instead of his usual 21 for his first game since he tore a ligament in a finger in his left hand.
“It was tough but that’s how you honor him, you go out there and you do your best,” Embiid said. “You work hard and you play through stuff.”
Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons had “Mamba Forever” and “RIP Gigi” (for Bryant’s daughter, among the nine killed in the crash) on each sneaker and scored 17 points.
Russell finished with 28 points on 10-for-22 shooting, five rebounds and seven assists while forward Glenn Robinson III, who frequently wears Bryant’s signature shoes, added 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.
“It’s tough to play in these environments,” Robinson said. “But I thought tonight we did the best job of playing together.”
Green, who considered Bryant a close friend, had nine points, nine rebounds and 12 assists. During the game’s first timeout, Simmons crossed to the other bench to check on Green’s well-being.
“We always talk about the brotherhood of the NBA or the relationships you build on your team, this is one of those moments where you all can lean on each other,” Green said. “Everybody is feeling the same thing, not just in this locker room but across the league.
“Everyone can lean on each other because, one way or another, we’re all affected.”