Kobe Bryant takes over fourth quarter against Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost in overtime to the Phoenix Suns, but Kobe Bryant was firing on all cylinders as he tried to close out the game in the fourth quarter. Kobe scored eight points in 7:12 played in the fourth, hitting the Suns with his patented footwork, fadeaways and turnarounds. Sure, there wasn't a win attached, but it was an entertaining stretch of basketball from one of the best to ever do it.

Here's his fourth quarter scoring stretch:

And the buckets carried into overtime before Byron Scott chose to sit him out the final minutes instead of extending his workload on the night. He still managed to get in two nice off-screen jumpers as the Suns' defense scrambled to get a hand up:

Those off-screen shots were well designed. Kobe put up the jumpers, but they force defenses to rotate which opens up the floor on the perimeter for the Lakers bigs. That's a good sign for an offense that's been grinding out possessions through preseason.

12 crucial points that didn't amount to much besides a very enjoyable vintage Kobe moments.