On Tuesday night, the 33-year-old poured in 48 points to lead the Lakers to a 99-83 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
It was Bryant’s 108th career game with 40 points or more — his first this season after only three last term.
Bryant hadn’t scored so many points since he erupted for 49 against Phoenix on March 1, 2009, and the performance came despite the torn ligament in his right wrist.
“You have to figure out a way to get it done,” Bryant said. “There’s no time to make excuses.”
Bryant was injured in a pre-season game, but had little time to rehabilitate before the compressed season began on Christmas Day.
Players around the league have said that the truncated training camps and, now, the rugged scheduling required for each team to play 66 games before the playoffs, will make for fatigue, injuries and diminished performances.
“It’s going to be a grind,” Atlanta guard Kirk Hinrich said last week. “It will come down to staying healthy and the teams that have the best bench.”
Dirk Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to the title last season, said the compressed schedule can’t lead to quality play, and the Mavericks have had their problems building momentum in their title defense.
“It is a lot of games. But I think every team’s got to deal with it now, and we’ve just got to be better,” Nowitzki said. “It’s tough, especially for a team that’s got a lot of veterans on it.”
That also applies to the Lakers, whose starting lineup has an average age of 31.
Bryant, however, clearly isn’t making excuses on or off the court.
“If I play bad or have one bad game like I did in Denver, everybody cries for a change or cries for the fact that I’m too old when it’s just a bad game or a bad wrist,” Bryant said. “Nobody wants to hear that.”