Andrew Bynum’s ejection paves way for Houston Rockets victory over Los Angeles Lakers - NBA Recap
On Friday night Kobe Bryant and company were up against Houston Rockets and for the 2nd straight time Andrew Bynum got himself ejected after committing a technical foul that marooned Los Angeles Lakers and allowed Rockets
to grab a 112-107 victory here at the Staples Center.
This was not the 1st time Bynum showed an unprofessional conduct, his 7 years of professional career is riddled with such events. In the last game of the Western Conference Semifinals in the previous season, he elbowed
Dallas Mavericks’ guard J.J. Barea in frustration and was suspended for the first four games this season.
On March 21, against the Rockets, he fouled out after picking two technicals and tonight again, Bynum let his anger and frustration get the better of him.
Rockets were marshalled by Goran Dragic, who he recorded a double-double with 26 points and 11 assists while forward Luis Scola was also in the groove with 25. Chandler Parsons tallied 13 and centre Marcus Camby netted 12 points
to go with 11 boards. Reserve Samuel Dalembert also had 12 and Courtney Lee recorded 10 points as the Rockets continue their strong charge late in the season.
Lakers talisman Kobe Bryant netted a game high 28 points while Metta World Peace was on song with 23. Bynum could collect 19 points and 7 boards before ejection and Pau Gasol had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Pau Gasol, was frustrated after the game, and said that they might have turned around the game if Bynum controlled his anger.
“It would be good to have him on the floor and help us win games. He's just got to find a way to make sure he can help the team any way he can. And to do that, he has to stay in the game. He's a great guy. He's a good person and
he's got a great heart. But I'm not him, I'm not inside him, and I don't know what goes on all the time in his mind."
The game remained closely contested in the opening frame and with 4:34 in hand it was tied for the 9th time at 20 each. Rockets however finished strong with a 9-4 run to conclude the segment at 29-24.
Lakers opened the 2nd frame with an 11-4 run and took a 35-33 lead. The game kept on shifting back and forth in the ensuing passage and late through the frame Lakers were leading with a slender 47-46 advantage. They
came up with a 12-4 burst late and concluded the 1st half after claiming a 59-50 lead.
The Rockets let it rip early in the third and at 73-67, they erupted with 8 unanswered points to claim a 75-73 lead. They stretched it to 84-81 by the end of 3rd period.
After the ejection of Bynum early in the 4th scores were tied at 85. With 2:31 on clock game was tied at 99. Rockets raced away from the stalemate with 9-2 run and claimed a 108-101 advantage with less than a minute
to expire. The lack of offense started to take its toll on Lakers and they finally crashed as Houston capped off the game after augmenting their lead to 112-107.
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