Nuggets spoil Kobe statue unveiling

NEW YORK (AFP) — Jamal Murray sparked the Denver Nuggets in the final minutes to a 114-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday after the Lakers unveiled a statue in tribute to the late National Basketball Association legend Kobe Bryant.

Murray had 29 points and a game-high 11 assists with seven rebounds while Nikola Jokic contributed 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. added 27 points to lead the Nuggets, who share the Western Conference lead with Minnesota at 36-16.

The Lakers erased a 15-point deficit down the stretch but the defending NBA champions closed with a 10-2 run to collect their seventh triumph in a row in games against the Lakers.

"They fought the whole way and it took us staying disciplined for 48 minutes," Murray said.

"It was a good team win."

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and 18-time NBA All-Star, played for the Lakers from 1996-2016 before he died in a 2020 helicopter crash.

The 19-foot bronze statue, weighing 4,000 pounds, shows superstar guard Bryant in his No. 8 Lakers jersey with his right index finger raised in the air. It stands outside the Lakers home arena, where Bryant delivered many of his greatest performances.

"This statue may look like Kobe, but really, it's what excellence looks like," said Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, praising Bryant's "timeless" greatness.