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LONDON — The British crowd came to see Kobe Bryant and his champion teammates. What they got was Michael Beasley and a surprise showing from the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves.
Beasley scored 21 points — including eight straight to help break open the game at the start of the second half — and Minnesota beat the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 111-92 on Monday night in their preseason opener played a long way from home.
Bryant only put in a brief appearance for Los Angeles, going scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in a little more than six minutes of playing time. That wasn’t enough to satisfy the crowd at the sold-out O2 Arena, which chanted “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe” during the second half. Bryant, who is still recovering from knee surgery in the offseason, answered with polite laughs on the bench, but the pleas had little effect on coach Phil Jackson.
“We had plans to play Kobe in two segments, but one was enough,” Jackson said. “He iced down at halftime. I probably should have told the PA announcer so he could tell the crowd.”
Bryant has only completed two full practices since training camp began, and said he likely wouldn’t have played at all if the game had been back home.
“I had a sense of responsibility to get out there and play for a little bit,” Bryant said, adding that the chants from the crowd tempted him to play more. “I wanted to get up and get in. But my shoes were already unlaced, and I had ice on my knees.”