During the NBA All-Star game, Dwayne Wade shocked fans, and mostly Kobe Bryant, when he fouled Kobe in a game that meant nothing, breaking his nose and giving him “concussion-like” symptoms. Fans thought it serendipitous that Wade’s Miami Heat were headed out to L.A. just one week later, and were eager to see how the repercussions of the unnecessary hit would play out. Bryant came out wearing a face mask and swinging. But it wasn’t revenge he was looking for, simply a win. Wade on the other hand, may have been suffering from a little karma, as it wasn’t one of his best games yet.
Wade didn’t apologize for the hit after the All-Star game, saying that Bryant had also thrown a couple of fouls his way. Reportedly though, Wade did send Kobe a text apologizing for the hit shortly after the incident. That must have been enough, as Bryant was then quoted as saying, “We put it behind us and moved on to this game. Baseball, it’s part of their sport. It’s kind of what they do. It’s part of their culture, it’s not part of ours.” Scoring 33 points in a game that the Lakers took over the Heat by 93-83 probably didn’t hurt Kobe’s ability to be gracious.
Wade on the other hand, had a horrible game. He finished with half of Kobe’s points, just 16, he missed 10 out of the 17 shots he threw, and he fouled out of the game. Being taken out of the game didn’t help the Heat, as they were also missing Bosh who missed his third game after his grandmother’s death. Wade couldn’t understand the fouls himself, saying, “It’s very rare. I don’t foul out much. I guess I had the red flag on me today. It was unfortunate. I would love to be in there with my teammates and I wasn’t able to.” Maybe it was the headache he was feeling after being hit by Lakers players during the game. Wade’s headache was probably nothing compared to Kobe’s though.
Kobe has been said to suffer from severe headaches when he’s exposed to a large amount of noise. That’s not good, considering that Lakers fans aren’t known for being a quiet bunch. The star Lakers player also had a hard time answering reports questions after the game, as he squinted against the blinding light of the cameras. Bryant has worn the face mask he donned at the Heat game for his past three games — every game one in which the Lakers emerged victorious. He has said that he’s not sure of how much longer he’ll continue to wear the protective gear; but after taking a few shots from Miami on Sunday, it’ll probably be at least a few days longer than he expected.
After the highly anticipated game, things go back to where they were before the All-Stars. The Lakers are still down in points, and now trying to figure out a way to win without Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. And in addition, they might be looking at losing Kobe for a little while if his condition gets any worse. The Heat on the other hand, remain high in the charts, but are no doubt excited about Bosch’s return; and hoping that Wade’s physical symptoms and foul tendencies are behind him.