Bishop turned aside three shots before departing

LOS ANGELES -- Nearly eight months after Kobe Bryant limped off the Lakers home court with a torn Achilles tendon and a career in doubt, he struggled to keep his composure when he finally stepped back onto the same hardwood. And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. Bryant began his 18th NBA season by going 2 for 9 with four assists and eight turnovers in 28 minutes. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history got hurt April 12 and persevered through several months of rehabilitation to return for Los Angeles 20th game of the new season, only to struggle with his shot, his timing and his new teammates. "My rhythm is completely out of sync," Bryant said. "But this is a start, and I guess a start is good." Nick Young scored 19 points for the Lakers, who went 10-9 without Bryant this season, forging a winning record without the five-time NBA champion and with little help from fellow injured MVP Steve Nash. Adoring fans cheered Kobes every move and forgave every misstep, but Bryant couldnt rally the Lakers late despite another huge game by Los Angeles reserves. Bryant was touched by the fans reception and his teammates encouragement, although his ruthless competitive nature chafed against his natural emotions before the opening tip. "You try to control it as much as you can, but you cant help thinking about the hard work," Bryant said. "You try to put it to the side as much as possible and do your work. ... It makes you appreciate the game, this franchise and this city, and all weve been through." The Lakers never led, and Toronto improbably snapped its five-game losing streak despite playing without forward Rudy Gay, who is expected to be traded to Sacramento on Monday as the centerpiece of an apparent seven-player deal. Kyle Lowry had 23 points and eight assists, and DeMar DeRozan added 10 of his 26 points in the final 4:35 of the Raptors first road win over the Lakers in 11 tries since Dec. 28, 2001. "(Bryant) was a little rusty, and you could tell because a lot of his shots were short," said DeRozan, who grew up in Los Angeles watching Kobe. "We were going against him his first game back, but hes going to get it going again and hell be back to the old Kobe." The Raptors had 11 players available after holding out Gay, centre Aaron Gray and forward Quincy Acy, all set to head to the Kings in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. That turned out to be plenty, thanks to two Los Angeles natives. Johnson, who attended nearby Westchester High School, went 14 for 17 and surpassed his previous career high early in the third quarter. Johnson didnt take a shot in the fourth, but USC product DeRozan and Lowry held off the Lakers. "We knew we were down because half our team got traded, so our mindset was just to go out there and play hard and win this game," Johnson said. "It was real emotional. It happened to us last year in Atlanta, too. We talked to those guys, and Rudy was still at the hotel, so we called him in and told him how much we all appreciated what they did for this team and the city." The building had the buzz of a playoff game before the opening tip, with thousands of fans training cameras on Bryant during opening warmups. The building erupted in loud applause at every mention of Kobe, who was introduced last in the starting lineup to the thunderous strains of "The Imperial March" -- Darth Vaders theme from "Star Wars." The crowd roared again the first time Bryant touched the ball, and he found Robert Sacre underneath the hoop for an assist on Los Angeles first possession. With his wife, Vanessa, and two daughters sitting courtside, Bryant hit a free throw for his first point in the second quarter, followed shortly by an 8-foot, double-pump, left-handed bank shot for his first field goal. Bryant added a signature 22-foot face-up jumper later in the period, but also showed clear signs of rust and unfamiliarity with his new teammates. "Were going to have to carry Kobe a little bit, because of course hes not 100 per cent, not in game shape," said Xavier Henry, who scored 17 points. "Its going to be fun. Its a long year, and hes just getting back." NOTES: The officials allowed Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas to make two free throws out of a timeout late in the first quarter, but belatedly realized Lowry was supposed to take the shots. They wiped the two points off the board and put Lowry back at the line, where he made both shots anyway. ... Terrence Ross banked in a shot from beyond half-court at the first-quarter buzzer to put Toronto up 30-20. Austin Seibert Browns Jersey . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. Odell Beckham Jr Youth Jersey .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com/Youth-Jim-Brown-Elite-Jersey/ . Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Joe Thomas Womens Jersey . Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span. Austin Seibert Womens Jersey . Kalish got his first hit since Sept. 11, 2012, when he rapped an RBI triple in the first inning Sunday in the Chicago Cubs 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.TAMPA, Fla. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs faded out of post-season contention again. Ondrej Palat had two goals, Anders Lindback came off the bench to make 25 saves, and the Tampa Bay Lightning ended Torontos playoff hopes by beating the Maple Leafs 3-0 on Tuesday night. "Not in shock," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "I guess the words to describe it would be extremely disappointed, shallow, embarrassed. All those things. I think we have more than what we were able to accomplish, and thats the most troubling issue here. "We just didnt find a way to compete to a level that was necessary." James Reimer stopped 31 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have lost 10 of 12. Toronto has missed the playoffs eight of the last nine seasons. "Obviously, this one hurts," Reimer said. "The bottom line, we werent good enough. I think that as a guy and as a team, you look in the mirror and you just have to accept that we werent good enough. A wise man once said that the playoffs dont let you in unless youre good enough. You dont sneak in there if you dont deserve it." The loss to Tampa Bay and Columbus overtime win over Phoenix sealed the Maple Leafs fate. "I actually didnt say anything (to the team) after because I was real disappointed, obviously, knowing that Columbus had won in overtime," Carlyle said. "They knew that after the game as well as I did, so it was a moot point going in and saying anything at this point. Well meet tomorrow and well talk tomorrow." Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop left with 14:17 left in the first due to an undisclosed upper-body injury. He was hurt while lunging to his left and landing on his side while attempting to glove the puck. Lindback replaced Bishop, who is 37-14-7 this season for the playoff-bound Lightnning.dddddddddddd Lightning coach Jon Cooper offered no specifics about Bishops injury. He did say Bishop will not play Thursday night against Philadelphia -- which was a scheduled game off -- and that plans to call up another goalie were already in the works before the injury. "Lets just wait and see what happens here," Cooper said. "No sense in speculating. Hes either going to be ready to go or hes not. Im really confident in what we have, especially after watching the performance tonight." Victor Hedman had an empty-net goal late in the third for the Lightning, who trail Montreal by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division. Bishop turned aside three shots before departing. Palat put the Lightning up 1-0 when he beat Reimer from the top of the left circle 9:19 into the second. Tampa Bay went up 2-0 during a power play when Palat, positioned near the post, scored after Steven Stamkos sent the puck off the boards behind the net with 4:15 left in the second. Lindback made a nifty glove save on Jake Gardiners shot late in the second. "Tonight wasnt a surprise for us that he came in and was huge," Hedman said. "He made those key saves when we needed him." NOTES: Lightning D Sami Salo left after two shifts in the second period with an undisclosed injury. ... Toronto C Dave Bolland (ankle) was scratched. The Maple Leafs were already without G Jonathan Bernier (knee) and RW Joffrey Lupul, who had what the team called successful arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday. ... Stamkos is the Lightning nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. ... Palat has three goals and six points during a four-game point streak. ... The Maple Leafs recalled RW Carter Ashton and G Drew MacIntyre from Toronto of the AHL. ' ' '