NBA in tears, stunned silence

DENVER – Colorado was the epicenter of Kobe Bryant’s worst moment, but even in Denver, in a building where he was frequently booed, there were tears and stunned silence.

It started with a moment of silence for the NBA great, who was killed in a helicopter crash about an hour before the game, and led to chants of “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!”

The game became secondary on this melancholy Sunday at Pepsi Center as the Denver Nuggets held off the Houston Rockets, 117-110.

“I’ve got to be honest, it wasn’t on my mind when we lost, us losing the game,” Rockets guard Austin Rivers said. “This pain is not going to go away anytime soon. You don’t even have to be a basketball fan to feel this.”

In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort. He had said the two had consensual sex, and the charge was eventually dropped. The woman later filed a civil suit against Bryant that was settled out of court. Bryant’s adulation remained strong in Los Angeles even amid the allegations.

But not so much in Denver, where, for years, his every appearance was met with lusty boos from fans who heard more about Bryant’s case than those in other NBA towns.

All afternoon, the mood was somber.

A few of the Denver players sat at their lockers before the game, staring at their phones in disbelief with the details of Bryant’s death starting to emerge. The 41-yearold Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among the nine people killed in the crash near Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Houston players Tyson Chandler and P.J. Tucker were visibly upset during the tribute, while Rivers covered his eyes with his arm. Rivers also had a tribute to Bryant on his shoes. So did Tucker, who wrote, “There will never be another.”

“This is beyond tough. I don’t have the words,” Tucker said. “There will never be another person like him. Still trying to process it .... I don’t even really remember much from the game. I’m sorry. Just didn’t mean a whole lot now.”