CLEVELAND -- Kobe Bryant walked off the floor blowing kisses and waving goodbye to another roaring sell-out crowd in another visiting city.
Kevin Love walked off the floor with his surgically repaired left shoulder dangling.
Bryant won't be back. Love won't miss any time at all.
Guard Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points and forward LeBron James had 29 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who dodged a major injury scare to Love in their 120-111 victory Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Love left the game in the final minute of the second quarter due to a left shoulder injury, and he did not return. Love called it a stinger and said he would be ready when the Cavs open the second half of the season Feb. 18 at home against the Chicago Bulls.
Bryant's arm seemed to catch Love's shoulder when Love was backing him down on a shot in the post. Love yelled in pain and headed for the bench with 45 seconds left in the second quarter, then walked immediately to the locker room.
"Just like when you get hit on the funny bone, the elbow has shooting pain. It felt like fire was running down my arm," Love said. "Just a stinger, and doctors decided we'll be cautious and use the break for it to feel better, but it actually feels OK right now."
Love's exit overshadowed Bryant's final appearance in Cleveland. Bryant had 17 points and six rebounds while shooting just 5-for-16.
The Lakers fell behind by 17 early in the first quarter before rallying, although they never took the lead. The Cavaliers pushed the lead to 22 in the third and still maintained a 19-point lead entering the fourth.
Bryant's four-point play cut the Cavaliers' lead to 104-95. The Lakers pulled within eight in the final minutes, but a 3-pointer from Cleveland guard J.R. Smith with 3:19 left put the game away.
Guard Lou Williams scored 28 points and guard Jordan Clarkson had 22 for the Lakers. Rookie guard D'Angelo Russell scored 15 points off the bench.
"That team over there is playing for a championship," Lakers coach Byron Scott said of the Cavs, his former team. "They've got a lot of talent, and they played well tonight."
The All-Star break is coming at an inopportune time for Irving, who is playing his best basketball of the season after missing the first two months of the season following knee surgery. Irving has set season highs in each of his past two games and is averaging 26.9 points in his past eight games.
"I hate more than anything for him that he has to get a break because he's in such a great groove right now," James said of Irving. "He's just laser sharp right now. It's more than just his game. It's his focus right now that I haven't seen from him in a long time."
Irving shot 15-for-24 Wednesday and is shooting 56 percent since Jan. 29. His 3-point shooting seemed to be the final piece to return following surgery, yet he is shooting 57 percent (8-for-14) from deep in the Cavs' past two games.
"That was really just a product of confidence," Irving said. "Teams and people are going under my ball screens, and I took that as disrespect. Just came in the gym, got extra shots up and trying to prove a point to myself. Just out there shooting the damn ball. It's just shooting a 3-point shot, and I feel like I'm pretty decent at it, so I work on it a ton. Just go out there and executing it."
There is a mutual respect between Bryant and James, who shared a hug when Bryant checked out of the game in the final minute to a standing ovation.
Bryant reiterated Wednesday he doesn't consider James a rival because the two stars weren't really in the same generation, but Bryant seems to be more receptive than he was earlier in his career when he appeared chilly on the court toward James. Bryant insists, however, the two have always had a better relationship than what was perceived.
"We've been close. We talk on the phone probably more than people know," Bryant said. "We talk about the game, we talk about different strategies that center around the game. We talk about different things off the court. Business related, players association related. We speak, there is much more communication than people want to (believe)."
They will face off again Sunday at the All-Star Game in Toronto, but then there will only be one more meeting between James and Bryant -- next month at Staples Center. The two legends have combined to appear in each of the last nine NBA Finals, yet somehow never met to play for one.
"Just the ebb and flows of each season," Bryant said. "It didn't matter to me. I just wanted to win the (darn) thing. I didn't care who we played. For the fans, it probably stinks because it would have been a great matchup, but from a player's perspective, it doesn't matter who you play. Just want to win the championship."
Bryant and the Lakers don't have a realistic chance at doing that this season, but the Cavs remain in contention. As for James, he will remember Bryant's competitive nature above everything else.
"There's a lot of guys with talent, lot of guys with height, size, talent, speed, can shoot better than this guy, can jump higher than this guy," James said. "There's something that's in you that gets you to that level. And I think his is determination, his competitive nature, and being able to compete with him for my 13 years has been a treat."
NOTES: Lakers F Kobe Bryant on the advice he would give Cavs F LeBron James: "Enjoy it. Enjoy the process of it all now, enjoy it when it comes." ... Bryant's two favorite memories of Cleveland were the 1997 All-Star Game, when he won the slam dunk contest and the league honored its 50 greatest players, and a regular-season game against James and the Cavaliers when Bryant was so sick he needed intravenous fluids. ... Lakers coach Byron Scott indicated he might go back to starting rookie G D'Angelo Russell after the All-Star break, but he wouldn't commit to it. ... Cavs F Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds. ... James passed Paul Pierce for 15th place on the league's all-time scoring list. ... Cavaliers G Matthew Dellavedova missed his fifth game with an injured left hamstring. ... Cleveland F Kevin Love notched his 3,000th career basket in the first quarter Wednesday.
