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Archive for 12.30.2010
Lakers End Losing Streak, Cruise Past Hornets
12.30.10
Lamar Odom lays up two against Hornets.
The Lakers avoided another four-game losing streak in fine fashion, as they led virtually all the way, in a surprisingly-easy 103-88 win against the Hornets in New Orleans on Wednesday.
After the loss on Tuesday against the Spurs, coach Phi Jackson decided to shake up the lineup, and put Andrew Bynum into the starting five for the first time this season, thus moving Lamar Odom back to his familiar sixth man role. And did that move pay off on this night for both players.
Odom scored a game-high 24 points on 10-15 from the floor, the most points scored by a Laker bench since 2005 when Tierre Brown had 27 against Atlanta. He also had a highlight play when he wrapped the ball behind his back on a drive to the rim, and after missing the layup, casually slammed home his own rebound. It was that kind of night for the Lakers.
Andrew Bynum scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in his first start of the season, and is looking more comfortable now as he works his way back from knee surgery. Kobe Bryant scored 20 points, hitting 8-14 shots from the field, and needed to play less than 28 minutes in the win. Pau Gasol had 11 points (on only five shots) and 12 rebounds.
The Lakers led 26-23 after one quarter, but outscored the Hornets 33-18 in the second, for a 59-41 halftime advantage. The Hornets never got closer than 13 points in the second half, as the Lakers cruised to their seventh win in their last 11 meetings in New Orleans.
For the game, the Lakers shot 58.6% from the field, and at one point late in the second quarter were still shooting over 70%. They also held the Hornets to just 41.8% from the floor, and 4-16 (25.0%) from the three-point line. The Lakers also dominated on the boards, holding a 44-24 rebounding advantage. In fact the Hornets only had 18 defensive rebounds, that’s how well it on both sides of the ball for the Lakers.
Chris Paul led the Hornets with 20 points and seven assists, but wasn’t really able to be much of a factor as he usually is against the Lakers. Marco Belinelli had 15 points, most of them in the second half when the game was out of reach. He only shot 4-16 from the floor for the game.
The Hornets did have a scary moment when leading-scorer David West went down with an ankle injury after landing on Ron Artest’s foot in the second quarter. He left the game, but did return for the second half. He scored just eight points in 28 minutes.
With their losing streak behind them, the Lakers play their next three games at home. The first will be New Year’s Eve against the Philadelphia 76ers. This will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams. The Lakers won the first meeting 93-81 in Philadelphia back on December 17th behind Lamar Odom’s 28 points.
Lakers Struggle Again in San Antonio
12.30.10
Andrew Bynum slams home two against Spurs.
In another lackadaisical second-half effort, the Lakers were blitzed by the San Antonio Spurs and dropped their third straight by 15+ points, 97-82 at the AT&T Center on Tuesday.
It was a game that started off well for the Lakers. They kept it close early on, erasing a nine-point first quarter deficit, and taking a 44-42 lead into halftime. After briefly getting up by four in the third quarter, that’s when the wheels came off, and the Spurs took over.
Led by the hustle and inside play of undersized center DeJuan Blair, and Tony Parker’s relentless attacking of the basket, the Spurs turned the game in their favor and took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 29-18 in the period. The Lakers never could recover, and never got the game close again, as the Spurs cruised to the win.
Kobe Bryant had another off shooting night, scoring a team-high 21 points, but hitting only 8-27 from the floor. He also picked up another technical foul, his fourth in the three games, after getting into a spat with George Hill in the second quarter. These technicals surely are a sign of the Lakers’ frustration on the court, as they continue having trouble beating good teams.
It was another miserable night offensively for the Lakers, as only Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest scored in double-figures, and they both had 10. Pau Gasol took only eight shots, scoring nine points, to go along with nine rebounds. For the game, the Lakers shot a season-low 35.4% from the field. They did outrebound the Spurs 51-50.
During this three-game losing streak, the Lakers are also averaging just 80.3 points per game, and have shot under 41% in two of the three games. They also are turning the ball over far too much as well, over 15 per game during the streak.
The Spurs were led by Tony Parker’s 23 points on 10-18 from the field. DeJuan Blair had a dominant second half, and scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the game. Richard Jefferson had 15 points and seven rebounds
The blowout win was even more impressive for the Spurs, when you consider that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili scored only 11 points combined on 4-19 from the floor. In fact Duncan only grabbed four rebounds in 30 minutes of action, yet the Spurs won convincingly.
The Lakers will try to avoid their second four-game losing of the season when they play tomorrow night in New Orleans against the Hornets. The Hornets, after starting the year 11-1, have gone only 7-12 since, as they have encountered their own problems the last month.
Link: Lakers @ Spurs Box Score
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