The Lakers won at home against the Cavaliers on Friday 97-92. The win came off a career night for Kobe Bryant who is having perhaps his best year ever. The Lakers are now 9-4 and in first place. The Cavaliers loss dropped them to 5-6 this season. They are currently in 3rd in their division, but have proven to be a team that is getting better behind 1st overall selection Kyrie Irving.

For Cleveland, Kyrie Irving led the way with 21 points. He is continuing to show that he is NBA ready and earned his first overall selection. Varajao added 11 points and 14 rebounds to help the Cavaliers but it was not enough. Even a good performance from Sessions off the bench could not quite get Cleveland over Kobe Bryant’s remarkable performance.

Kobe Bryant scored 42 points on the contest and is showing that his severely injured wrist is healing fast and almost 100 percent. Teammate Paul Gasol added 19 and had 10 rebounds to earn a double-double on the day. Bynum also got a double-double by scoring 15 points and collecting 10 rebounds. The Lakers will look to gain some more ground in the division and build a bigger lead.

If Kobe can continue to perform like this with a hurt wrist then only time will tell how far the Lakers can go. A healthy Kobe will be able to make a run at another MVP title as well. Certainly right now he is proving to be a top performer in the league.