The Los Angeles Lakers stepped on the court on Monday (Tuesday IST) in a jersey that was both old and new. In order to honour late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, the Lakers donned a black Black Mamba jersey during their playoffs' Round 1 Game 4 matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. While the Lakers wanted to wear the jersey later in the playoffs, they opted to pay their tribute on August 24, which is a combination of both numbers Bryant wote while playing for the Lakers – No. 8 and No. 24. 

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Los Angeles Lakers don the Black Mamba jersey during Game 4 against the Trail Blazers

While the Black Mamba jersey was made to honour Kobe Bryant, the Lakers also added a No.2 patch, which was the number Gianna Bryant wore. Bryant, Gianna and seven others lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26. The group was travelling to one of Gianna's basketball games at the Mamba Sports Academy at Thousand Oaks. 

Designed by Bryant himself, the Black Mamba jersey is a part of the 'Lore' series released in 2018. The black jersey, recently released by Nike, features snakeskin patterns along with yellow highlights and 16 stars that represent the franchise's 16 NBA titles. They also released the jersey with both of Bryant's numbers. 

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Kobe Byant tribute: How did others at the NBA bubble honour the Lakers legend?

While the Lakers opted for Black Mamba jerseys, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard chose to write 8 and 24 on his shoes before starting Game 4. Houston Rockets' star guard James Harden also honoured Bryant in a similar way during their playoffs game against Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook, who is sidelined due to a quad injury, attended the game in a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey. All games that took place on August 24 also had the Lakers' 'KB' and '2' patches displayed courtside at the Orlando bubble. 

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Lakers vs Trail Blazers highlights

The Lakers started the game with a massive 24-8 run during the first quarter, beating the Trail Blazers 135-115 and leading the series 3-1. LeBron James led the game with 30 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Lillard, who exited the game with a knee injury, scored 11 points. Jusuf Nurkic scored team-high 20 points for the Trail Blazers. Both teams will meet for Game 5 on Wednesday, 9:00 PM EST (Thursday, 6:30 AM IST). 

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(Image credits: Lakers, NBA stats Twitter)