Kobe Bryant Memorial Service Held

Family, friends and fans packed the Staples Center Monday for the memorial service for Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. It began with Beyonce singing two of Kobe's favorite songs, “XO” and “Halo,” and Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera also performed. NBA greats Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan paid tribute to their friend, and Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant spoke emotionally about her “soulmate” and their daughter. She said, “God knew they couldn’t be on this earth without each other. He had to bring them home to heaven together.”

Vanessa Bryant has filed a wrongful death suit against Island Express Helicopters, owner of the helicopter involved in the crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna, and seven others last month. According to ‘TMZ,’ she also filed suit against the pilot, Ara Zobayan, who died in the crash. Bryant claims Zobayan was careless and negligent by flying in foggy conditions and should have aborted the flight, and calls out Island Express for not equipping its helicopters with a terrain avoidance warning system.

Wizards' Beal Scores Back-to-Back 50 Points

The Washington Wizards’ Bradly Beal became the first player since Kobe Bryant in March 2007 to score at least 50 points on back-to-back nights Monday night, getting a career-high 55 points in his team's 137-134 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, hours after Bryant's memorial service. One night earlier, Beal scored 53 points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Sabrina Ionescu Sets Records

Hours after speaking at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service, Oregon senior Sabrina Ionescu Monday night became the first player in NCAA history, male or female, to have 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds as she led Oregon to a 74-66 win over Stanford. She now has 2,467 points, 1,041 assists and 1,003 rebounds. Ionescu referred to Bryant as she spoke to ESPN afterward, saying, “That one was for him.” 

National Basketball Association

Monday, February 24 Scoreboard

Dallas 139, Minnesota 123

Philadelphia 129, Atlanta 112

Cleveland 125, Miami 119 (OT)

Milwaukee 137, Washington 134 (OT)

Orlando 115, Brooklyn 113

Phoenix 131, Utah 111

Houston 123, New York 112

Los Angeles Clippers 124, Memphis 97

Tuesday, February 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

Charlotte at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Milwaukee at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Denver, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Los Angeles Lakers, 9 p.m.

Boston at Portland, 9 p.m.

Sacramento at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.