Stephen Curry had 30 points and 15 assists, Marreese Speights added 24 points, and the Warriors cruised to a 136-115 victory Sunday night despite 44 points by the 36-year-old Bryant.
"I think that just says that he's still Kobe and he can get 44. As long as it doesn't hurt us too much and the game's going our way, then we're going to play him straight up," coach Steve Kerr said. "Kobe's Kobe, and he's always going to score -- no matter how old he is. I'm sure it's tough on him, but he's such a competitor."
Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacific Division-leading Warriors, who are off to an 8-2 start in Kerr's first season. Klay Thompson, who had 41 points in a win against the Lakers on Nov. 1, finished with 18 in the rematch.
"They came out and knocked down shots and put us in a hole pretty quick," Bryant said. "We're not getting back in transition and giving up a lot of points. We've got to give ourselves an opportunity to play half-court defense. ... They're running the ball and shooting in transition in five seconds before you really get an opportunity."
Bryant, who sat out the fourth quarter with Los Angeles down by 36 points, was 15-for-34 from the field in 31 minutes -- two nights after he played sick against the Phoenix Suns and missed his first 10 shots before finishing 1-for-14 with nine points.
"I'd rather get guys involved early. That's always the intent," Bryant said. "But when you go down 10-12 points in the hole, man, I've got to try to keep us in the ballgame at some point. The responsibility is on me. I mean, when things go good, it's us. When things go bad, it's me."
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