LeBron James hammers a triple-double as Miami Heat cruise past the Los Angeles Lakers
With five minutes remaining in the game LeBron James and Kobe Bryant jawed profusely, while they jogged down court, trying not to make any eye contact.
That proved to be the only contest that Kobe could present to the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) on Christmas night. The match, which was tipped to
be the clash of the titans proved to be entirely otherwise, as LeBron James pounded a game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, en-route to 31st triple-double of his career. After
the match LeBron said, "We're not trying to make a statement to anyone. We're trying to show each other that we can play at a high level and try to get better every game. This is one
game. ... We're happy because we got better today."
But the fact is that the Miami Heat have not only made a huge statement to the two-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, but to the whole league. The
Heat has won fourteen of their last fifteen contests, and with the Big Three clicking together, stopping the red hot Miami juggernaut is going to take some doing.
For the Lakers there are no positives to take from the game. After a spineless home thumping by the lowly Milwaukee Bucks, the Lakers followed with another listless
display against the Heat. Miami never allowed the Lakers to get into any kind of momentum, as the much hyped extravaganza turned into a lopsided romp on Christmas night. The Lakers only
dominated the match for the first three minutes as they raced to a 7-2 lead giving way to deafening cheers at the Staples centre.
The celebrations proved to be premature as the Big Three of Miami started to turn on the heat. The trio combined to score the team's first 17 points, and helped Miami
rattle off a 13-2 run midway through the first quarter, while the Lakers missed 10 straight during that span. The signs of Miami's onslaught were looking ominous by the time the first buzzer was sounded, as Miami restricted the Lakers to only 14 points in
the first 12 minutes.
Nothing was going right for the Lakers from the start of the game. Ron Artest picked up two fouls in the first two and a half minutes of play, forcing Phil Jackson
to change his line up early. To add to the Lakers woes, their big guns Bryant and Pau Gasol totally looked clueless in front of an imposing Miami defence, as the duo failed to find the net in eleven attempts from the field.
Things took a turn for the worst, as the Heat upped their ante offensively to start the second quarter and reeled off an 8-2 run early, to further mount the pressure
on the Lakers. The Lakers tried to retaliate, but Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade's efforts ensured that the Lakers never came within eight points. Chris Bosh took over the scoring mantle at this point, as he hammered six consecutive points to take Miami into
the locker room with a 47-38 advantage.
Bryant and Gasol tried their utmost to mount a comeback at the start of the third quarter, but the Heat answered fire with fire, as they continued to pounce on a
crumbling Lakers defence. Leading by 75-64, the new contenders for the coveted NBA crown, continued to bully the Lakers going into the final quarter. At the eight-minute mark of the
fourth quarter, Miami struck the final blow, as they thundered to a 16-4 spurt to completely knock over the Lakers.
Staring at a 21-point deficit, the Lakers managed to outscore the Heat 10-5 to finish their ordeal at 96-80. James
spearheaded the match, which showcased the expected transition of the Championship ring from Los Angeles to Miami. The other two members of the Big Three though weren’t far behind. Chris Bosh had 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade managed to score
more points than any Lakers player (18) even with a sore knee. For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol finished with 17 points apiece, and Lamar Odom contributed 14 points and nine
rebounds.
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