Kobe Bryant returns with 9 points, but Toronto Raptors snaps skid with 106-94 win over Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, right, passes the ball around Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan, left, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) (The Associated Press)

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant dribbles the ball as he is guarded by Toronto Raptors' Landry Fields, left, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) (The Associated Press)

Kobe Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut for the Lakers, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors' 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night.

Bryant began his 18th NBA season by going 2 for 9 with four assists and eight turnovers in 28 minutes. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history hadn't played since tearing his Achilles tendon in April, undergoing several months of rehabilitation to return for Los Angeles' 20th game of the new season.

But the Lakers never led, and Toronto improbably snapped its five-game losing streak despite playing without forward Rudy Gay, who is expected to be traded to Sacramento on Monday as the centerpiece of an apparent seven-player deal.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/kobe-bryant-returns-with-9-points-but-toronto-raptors-snaps-skid-with-106-94-win-over-lakers