Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers sweep New Orleans Hornets to win 106-90
The Los Angeles Lakers overcame a big deficit as Kobe Bryant overcame a sprained ankle to blaze past the New Orleans Hornets for a 106-90. What Bryant did was phenomenal, reminding his playoff opponents and everyone else that he truly is the Black Mamba.
The crowd almost jumped out of their chairs after Bryant pinned a crucial driving layup down the lane, giving the final blow to the Hornets who were leading by nine points at the end of first quarter, 32-23.
Bryant led the Lakers squad by scoring 19 points, leaving the opposition awestruck at his performance. Andrew Bynum followed with a double-double by posting 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the win.
As for New Orleans, Trevor Ariza pinned a game high 22 points and Marco Belinelli added 21 points in the loss. Chris Paul succeeded in scoring 21 points and pulling out 12 assists in the loss, but failed to make a considerable impact in the second half of
the game.
The Hornets started the game confidently. With the series tied at 2-2 and their minds focused on Bryant’s injury, the Hornets clinched three straight shots down the stretch in the very first quarter, picking an early lead to go 7-4 at the 10:11 mark. Derek
Fisher and Ron Artest nailed two three-pointers that helped their team get a hold of the game once again. The Hornets limited the Lakers ability to produce more shots by choking offence and broke their defences to dominate the Lakers by eight points with just
1:45 remaining in the first quarter, 27-19. Two more free throws raised their spirits further and the Hornets almost started dreaming of a victory at the 1:15 mark, when they scored 29-21. They did not know that those dreams would soon turn into a nightmare.
Before turning the game around, Los Angeles was trailing by as many as nine points at the end of first quarter, 32-23.
Even with a huge gap in between them, the Hornets could not slow down the Lakers. After entering the second quarter, they bridged the gap by taking a 10-0 run over the opposition that earned them a one point lead, 33-32. The Lakers fought back in the second
quarter and as a result of that the game was tied as many as four times. However, Bryant’s vintage dunk got them ahead in the race, helping them break New Orleans nerves, 54-51, at the end of the first half.
The Lakers changed the course of the game once and for all, spearheading the Hornets by outscoring them, 25-21 in the third quarter. Showing the Hornets a sign of what it was to come, the Lakers took on another 10-2 run over the suddenly sliding Hornets
to lead them by 10 points, 82-72 at the beginning of final quarter. They pushed the Hornets down by letting them score just 18 points, while they savoured another 27 points in the final stanza. Pau Gasol contributed 16 points in the victory.
The Hornets were severely hurt after the disappointing loss. New Orleans coach Monty Williams was left dejected and stated, "That's what he (Bryant) does. All this talk about his ankle. Did it look like his ankle was hurting?"
Game 6 of the series will take place on April 28th, 2011, Thursday night at the New Orleans Arena, New Orleans.
Tags: