Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers managed to keep their series with the OKC Thunder alive after LA edged Kevin Durant and company in a close game Friday night.

And with so much talk about the Lakers not being a dominant team in the Western Conference anymore, Kobe went off in a post-game interview, expressing how he really feels when he steps in between the lines.

“I don’t give a f*ck what you say,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports late Friday. “If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, ‘Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.’ Well, f*ck you.”

The Black Mamba then went on to say that he plays for himself and his team and doesn’t worry about what anyone else says or thinks.

“Because I don’t play for your f***ing approval. I play for my own love and enjoyment of the game. And to win. That’s what I play for. Most of the time, when guys feel the pressure, they’re worried about what people might say about them. I don’t have that fear, and it enables me to forget bad plays and to take shots and play my game.”

With so many pressure-packed moments during his extensive career, Kobe says he doesn’t shy away from the clutch moments of a playoff game, but embraces it.

“In the pressure situations, you’ve always got to want to go to the line. You can try to avoid contact, because you don’t want to go to the free-throw line in those pressure situations. Me, I enjoy it.”

The Lakers/Thunder series continues Saturday night for Game 4 in Los Angeles.

Source: coasttocoastballers.com