Kobe Bryant returned to action after a five-game layoff due to an ankle injury on Tuesday, and quickly resumed being the deadliest closer in the league by scoring the Lakers’ last nine points including a 30-foot game-winning 3-pointer. He finished with 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting (including three 3-pointers), seven rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes of run. With 18 days of rest under his belt, he’s rested, and may be as dangerous as anybody not named LeBron for the rest of the year.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Sacramento: Sacramento Kings’ big man Spencer Hawes was inactive for Tuesday’s game. Head Coach Paul Westphal said he is helping Hawes to learn his “role.” This takes being in a coach’s doghouse to another level, as Westphal seems intent on breaking his young pup of a center.

Sacramento: The Kings have waived Larry Hughes, a source tells Adrian Wojnarkowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Hughes was only part of the Tracy McGrady deal to make the salaries work. He was never going to play for the Kings. Hughes can still give a little ball handing and scoring off the bench for a contender.

Miami: Miami Heat swingman Dorell Wright scored a season-high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting off the bench on Tuesday, including 6-of-7 shooting from downtown. He also had seven rebounds, two steals and three blocks in 30 minutes. It’s important to remember that Dwyane Wade was sidelined, boosting Wright’s playing time well above his 19 minutes average.

Charlotte: Hornets backup guard Marcus Thornton unleashed a career-high 37 points on 15-of-22 shooting vs. the Cavaliers on Tuesday, adding three 3-pointers, two assists and two steals in 31 minutes.

Thornton scored a franchise-record 23 points in the second quarter alone, but didn’t start the second half despite his out-of-body experience. He lost his starting gig to veteran Morris Peterson (two points in 21 minutes) when he got injured a few weeks ago, but may have taken it back tonight.

Portland: Nicolas Batum has taken over for Martell Webster as the Portland Trail Blazers starting small forward. It’s a changing of the guard for the Blazers. Batum has been shooting it well enough lately to not be a liability on offense, and we know what he does defensively.