open the tournament, with the top-ranked, world champion and southern

Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan on the NBAs all-time scoring list, then won the game for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant scored 26, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with about a minute remaining and the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-94 on Sunday in an historic game for the veteran guard. Bryant passed Jordan for third place on the points list with a pair of free throws in the second quarter. Later, his deep 3 over Andrew Wiggins with 1:02 left came as the shot clock was winding down, giving the Lakers a 97-94 lead. He ended his 1,269th NBA game with 32,310 points and trails only Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and Karl Malone in NBA history. Im just honored to be here and still be playing, Bryant said. Careers dont usually last this long. Jordan scored 32,292 points in 1,072 career games for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, averaging 30.1 per game. He congratulated Bryant in a statement released to The Associated Press. Hes obviously a great player, with a strong work ethic and has an equally strong passion for the game of basketball, Jordans statement said in part. Ive enjoyed watching his game evolve over the years, and I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes next. Passing Jordan this season was an inevitability for Bryant as long as he remained healthy. He entered the game needing just nine points. After knocking down a 3 from the left corner, he nearly did it on a patented turnaround jumper on the next trip down the court, but it rattled out. I thought that was the shot, said Byron Scott, who played his final NBA season for the Lakers when Bryant was a rookie and now coaches the future Hall of Famer. I guess my second choice would be he gets fouled and goes to the free throw line. After Bryant made the foul shots with 5:24 remaining in the first half, the game was stopped for several minutes as players from both teams offered him congratulations and he was given the game ball. Praise arrived via social media, too, with LeBron James calling Bryant a living legend in a congratulatory tweet. Hes had an unbelievable career, Scott said of Bryant. Im just happy that I was able to share (it) him at the beginning of his career and to this point as well. I was there when he made his first basket and going on 18 years, this is where he is. The Lakers have won three in a row for the first time since Nov. 17-24, 2013. Carlos Boozer added 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Shabazz Muhammad had 28 points and nine rebounds off the bench to lead the Timberwolves, who are 1-8 since a 120-119 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Nov. 28. They went 1-3 on a four-game homestand. Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine, who was born about 15 months before Bryant was drafted, said he grew up a fan. Passing Michael Jordan is a big feat. Not many people do that, LaVine said. I mean, like, ever. Game Notes Abdul-Jabbar ranks first on the scoring list with 38,387 points and Malone is second with 36,928 ... The Lakers stopped a three-game losing streak in the series ... The Lakers finish a three-game road trip on Monday against Indiana ... The Timberwolves visit Washington on Tuesday. Collin Sexton Jersey . -- Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone above his left eye but has no other serious injuries after being hit in the face by a line drive in a spring training game. Discount Cavaliers Jerseys . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season. http://www.cheapcavaliersjerseyschina.com/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Cavaliers Jerseys From China . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. Womens Cavaliers Jerseys . PAUL, Minn.JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- South Africa scored nine tries to emphatically open its Rugby Championship with a 73-13 win over Argentina on Saturday, avenging a surprise draw between the teams in their last meeting a year ago with the biggest win ever in the southern hemisphere competition. The Springboks took control at FNB Stadium in Soweto from a 30th-minute penalty try, and crossed seven times in the second half to keep Argentina winless in seven games in this competition. South Africa also moved powerfully to a seventh straight test win under coach Heyneke Meyer, with flyhalf Morne Steyn kicking 28 points and landing 12 out of 13 attempts. South Africa surpassed its own points tally in a 61-22 win over Australia in Pretoria in 1997 and also the competitions previous best 45-point margin when the Springboks beat Australia 53-8 at Johannesburg in 2008, all on a day of national celebration and dedicated to South African icon and former president Nelson Mandela. "I think that the team talk was simple," Meyer said. "I said to the players, I really want a special performance. We really wanted to make our country proud." The No. 2-ranked Springboks also responded to New Zealands six-try, 47-29 win over Australia earlier Saturday to open the tournament, with the top-ranked, world champion and southern hemisphere champion All Blacks undoubtedly rugbys pace-setters. South Africa had eight different try-scorers after the penalty try and kept a meek Argentina scoreless from the 23rd minute until their only try through captain Felipe Contepomi in the last minute. Contepomi had all Argentinas points with a try, conversion and two penalties, but the South Americans were left ragged and completely dispirited after coming close to a maiden win in the championship in their debut season in 2012 several times, and then going down by 60 points in their 2013 opener. "Last year we struggled a bit, this year we struggled a lot," Contepomi said. "Its hard when you take a shot like that ... we have to learn, and fast." It was only 9-6 after nearly half an hour when the Springboks forged ahead with their penalty try, a telling double blow for the Argentinians as theey also lost hooker Eusebio Guinazu to a sin-binning for knocking down a pass that would have put Ruan Pienaar clear in the left corner.dddddddddddd No. 8 Leonardo Senatore was yellow-carded in the second half. Centre JJ Engelbrecht collected a kick through three minutes after the penalty try and ran 50 metres for the second, a breakout from near the Springboks line set up by Steyn, who passed to fullback Willie le Roux to chip ahead. With a 26-6 halftime lead, the Boks blew the Pumas away in the second to score 47 points and concede only seven. Hooker Adriaan Strauss try from a rumbling maul early in the second effectively ended what was left of any contest. "We are very disappointed," Argentina coach Santiago Phelan said. "First half we didnt take control of the ball, we were under pressure everywhere. In the second half we were broken." Flanker Willem Alberts secured the four-try bonus point as early as the 54th as the Boks repeated the lineout and mauling move that put Strauss over. A minute later, skipper Jean de Villiers intercepted and burst clear and Argentina began to fade away badly under an onslaught. World Cup-winning scrumhalf Fourie du Preez bolted over for the sixth minutes after returning to international rugby as a replacement following a two-year absence. Wing Bryan Habana scored his South African record-extending 51st test try, and No. 8 Duane Vermeulen and replacement hooker Bismarck du Plessis also crashed over. Contepomi ended a counterattack with his try in the last act of the game, but that didnt hide the ruthless rugby lesson for the Pumas, who can still recover some pride with the return match in Mendoza, Argentina next weekend as they did in that 16-16 draw last year. "I think it will be a totally different beast playing in Mendoza," South Africa captain De Villiers said. "Theyll be hurting going back home." ------ Scores: South Africa 73 (JJ Engelbrecht, Adriaan Strauss, Willem Alberts, Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana, Duane Vermeulen, Bismarck du Plessis, penalty tries; Morne Steyn 8 conversions, 4 penalties), Argentina 13 (Felipe Contepomi try, conversion, 2 penalties). HT: 26-6. 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