SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard did not play Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, giving Kobe Bryant one less obstacle in his pursuit of Michael Jordan on the career scoring list.Leonard, a member of the All-Defensive second team last season, missed his second straight game with a bruised right hand.Bryant needed 30 points in the game to tie Jordan for third place with 32,292 points.Bryant is second in the league at 25.5 points per game, but had a season-low nine points on 1-of-14 shooting in a 93-80 home loss to San Antonio on Nov. 14.Leonard was a primary factor in Bryants struggles that evening. The 6-foot-7 small forward has become the Spurs primary defender, guarding the oppositions high-scoring wings such as Bryant and LeBron James.With Leonard out, the task of trying to stop Bryant was expected to fall on a combination of Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli. But stopping players like Bryant and Jordan is impossible regardless of who is defending them, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.You dont stop guys like that, Popovich said. You have to make them work hard for everything they get. You hope they have a bad night, that sort of stuff. There is nothing you can really do to stop somebody cold. If you take the ball away from them for a while, they figure out how to use their teammates to try to win a basketball game. Theyre special people. Stephen Johns Jersey . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener. Dallas Stars Jerseys . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. http://www.authenticstarspro.com/Neal-broten-stars-jersey/ .C. - Canadian ice dancing, it seems, is in good hands. Tyler Seguin Jersey . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. Brett Hull Jersey . - Playing a road game against a division rival raises the intensity for linebacker Clay Matthews.SEATTLE -- Brad Ausmus watches the intensity and concentration of Detroits Victor Martinez at the plate and is continually impressed. The only time Detroits first-year manager has noticed a difference is when opponents decide to pitch around Miguel Cabrera and take their chances with the leading hitter in the American League. "The only time I see his concentration go up even higher is when someone gets walked in front of him," Ausmus said. Martinez broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the fifth inning capping a 10-pitch at-bat, Justin Verlander threw 7 2-3 strong innings and the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3 on Friday night. Martinez watched as Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma issued a two-out intentional walk to Cabrera in the fifth. It was probably the right move after Cabrera hit a two-run homer off Iwakuma in the third inning to give Detroit the lead. Martinez then made Iwakuma work, fouling off pitch after pitch and extending the at-bat. On the 10th pitch, Iwakuma left a slider hanging chest-high and Martinez lifted his 13th homer of the season out to right field. "I thought I did pretty well until that last pitch," Iwakuma said through an interpreter. Martinez finished with two hits raising his AL-leading average to .347. Hes come to understand hitting behind Cabrera there will be times that hes considered the better option to face. "Early in my career, I used to get mad ... when they were walking people in front of me. Id get mad at the plate and be swinging at anything," Martinez said. "Now I understand. Hey, if Im a manager, Id do the same thing. It is what it is. (Cabrera) the best hitter in the game, and you cant let the best hitter in the game beat you. I understand it." Cabreras homer in the third came on the first pitch from Iwakuma. Both home runs Iwakuma allowed came with two outs and led to his shortest outing of the season. Iwakuma (3-2) lasted just six innings andd took his second straight loss.dddddddddddd Rajai Davis added a solo shot on the first pitch from reliever Charlie Furbush in the seventh, his fourth homer of the season. The homers provided plenty of support for Verlander (6-4), who had lost three of his previous four starts and gave up 11 hits in each of his last two outings. He allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one. Verlander was on the cusp of getting through the eighth for just the second time this season, but James Jones two-out single forced a change. Verlander threw a season-high 120 pitches. The outing was more what the Tigers have come to expect from Verlander. "I think my rhythm was much better, my consistency was much better and my stuff was a lot better," Verlander said. "Thats a good sign in and of itself." Verlanders only troubles came with Seattles Kyle Seager, who doubled in his first at-bat and hit a two-run homer in the fourth to pull the Mariners even. Seager was thrown out at home trying to score on an infield groundball in the second, but made up for it with his eighth homer of the season in the fourth. The Mariners had a chance in the fifth after Endy Chavezs two-out double, but second baseman Ian Kinsler swallowed Jones hard one-hopper and threw him out to save a run. Joba Chamberlain pitched the ninth for his second save. Seattle played without second baseman Robinson Cano for the second straight night, sitting out with a minor contusion on his hand. Cano was a late scratch from Thursdays lineup, but said before Fridays game that he was feeling better. He has played at least 159 games in each of the past seven seasons. NOTES: It was the first time for Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon facing the Tigers. McClendon was on Jim Leylands coaching staff in Detroit from 2006-13 before getting the Seattle job. ... Cabreras homer snapped Iwakumas streak of scoreless innings against AL Central teams at 50 1-3. ' ' '