By Official Release
Posted Dec 29 2008 2:42PM
NEW YORK -- The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 22, through Sunday, Dec. 28.
James guided the Cavaliers to a 3-0 mark, with home wins over the Rockets, Wizards and Heat, improving Cleveland's mark at Quicken Loans Arena to 16-0, tops in the NBA. He averaged 26.0 points on 53 percent shooting, while adding 6.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists, as Cleveland improved to 26-4, the best start in franchise history. He finished with 27 points, including 19 in the second half, as Cleveland rallied to defeat Houston. He tallied 11 fourth-quarter points and finished with 33 points and nine assists in a comeback win over Miami.
Bryant led the Lakers to a 4-0 week, averaging 30.0 points on 54 percent shooting, to go with 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He tallied a game-high 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as the Lakers defeated Boston on Christmas Day, 92-83, snapping the Celtics' 19-game winning streak. He capped off the week going 10-for-10 from the free throw line en route to scoring 31 points in a 130-113 victory over Golden State.
Here is a recap of the week for James and Bryant:
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Dec. 23 vs. Houston: Tallied 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a 99-90 win over the Rockets.
• Dec. 25 vs. Washington: Celebrated Christmas with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals in a 93-89 win over the Wizards.
• Dec. 28 vs. Miami: Capped off the week with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds in a 93-86 win over the Heat.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
• Dec. 22 @ Memphis: Tallied 36 points, four rebounds and three assists in the Lakers' 105-96 win over the Grizzlies.
• Dec. 23 @ New Orleans: Finished with 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the Lakers' 100-87 win over the Hornets.
• Dec. 25 vs. Boston: Scored a game-high 27 points, to go with nine rebounds and five assists in the Lakers' 92-83 win over the Celtics.
• Dec. 28 vs. Golden State: Hit for 31 points and tied a season-high with four steals in the Lakers' 130-113 win over the Warriors.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Miami's Dwyane Wade, Orlando's Rashard Lewis, Cleveland's Mo Williams, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Detroit's Rodney Stuckey, Houston's Yao Ming, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, San Antonio's Tony Parker and Toronto's Jermaine O'Neal.
 | Bulls vs. Celtics: First half Rajon Rondo scores 16 points in the first half and the Celtics lead the Bulls 48-43 heading into the break. |
 | Stiemsma Blocks and Rondo Scores Greg Stiemsma makes the block and Rajon Rondo races to the basket for the easy deuce. |
 | Rondo's Between the Legs Pass In his attempt to save the ball, Rajon Rondo makes a between the legs pass to Chris Wilcox, who flushes it home. |
 | Bryant's Game Winner Kobe Bryant sinks a jumper with four seconds left on the clock to give the Lakers' a one-point lead. |
 | DeRozan's Baseline And-1 DeMar DeRozan cuts down the baseline for the layup plus the foul. |
 | Big to Big Pass Pau Gasol throws an over the top lob to Andrew Bynum, who flushes home the two-handed dunk. |
 | Bynum to the Rescue Andrew Bynum tips in Kobe's missed jumper right before the buzzer sounds. |
 | Johnson's Rim Rocker James Johnson takes advantage of the Lakers listless defense and heads straight to the rack for the two-handed dunk. |
 | Johnson's Coast-to-Coast Dunk After collecting the rebound, James Johnson goes coast to coast to the rim and slams it with authority. |
 | Lakers vs. Raptors: First half Pau Gasol is having a great first half and scores 12 points to give the Lakers a 54-46 lead over the Raptors. |
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