Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash solid in preseason opener (Video)

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash played for the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night and neither of them needed a stretcher when it was over.

For a couple of guys old enough to run for president—the fact that one of them isn’t eligible to do so aside—Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash looked good in the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason opening 98-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets in San Diego Monday night.

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Bryant, 36, scored 13 points in 21 minutes against the Nuggets in his first game action since last December. Bryant missed all but six games last season, first while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and then later with a broken bone in his knee.

Bryant was 5-for-12 from the floor with five assists and two rebounds. But he was moving well, quick and decisive as always. He told Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times after the game:

Here are some highlights from Bryant’s performance:

Kobe: "I felt like I could do anything I wanted."
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) October 7, 2014

Meanwhile, the 40-year-old Nash, was limited to 15 games last season because of what was called nerve root irritation—which sounds both extraordinarily uncomfortable and something that might afflict a much older man.

Nash had 11 points and five assists in 20 minutes, hitting 4-of-8 from the floor, including splashing his lone 3-point try.

Both players started for the new-look Lakers, with big-ticket trade acquisition Jeremy Lin playing 28 minutes off the bench. Lin was 0-for-6 from the floor and finished with one point and 10 assists.

Rookie Jordan Clarkson was 3-for-13 from the floor, hit 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and had a team-high 14 points for the Lakers in 27 minutes.

The big question for Bryant and Nash will be how they feel on Tuesday, the day after playing, but the old guys won’t have another chance to play until Thursday, when they host the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center.

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