Los Angeles Lakers 60 vs. Charlotte Bobcats 36 – NBA First Half Recap
On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers, in search of their first back-to-back win after a 5 game winning streak two weeks back, took on the woeful Charlotte Bobcats.
The Bobcats came into the game on the back of eight consecutive losses and judging by the way, they have played till halftime, Paul Silas team is on course for the ninth one.
With Kobe Bryant in exceptional shooting touch, the Lakers bulldozed the Bobcats 60-36 in the first half, as they prepare to proceed to a two week long road trip. Bryant erupted with 18 points in the first quarter alone, enroute
to 24 point performance on a 9-for-16 shooting from the floor.
On a night when Gerald Henderson returned, the Bobcats drew the first blood, with a Boris Diaw layup. However, after that, began the Kobe show.
The Black Mamba, started with two free throws and then drilled down three’s on the either side of Kemba Walkers’ trey to give the Lakers a head start. That was only the beginning though, as after the Bobcats pulled within 11-12,
Bryant initiated an 8-2 run and then scored the last eight Lakers points, giving his team a 26-15 lead after one.
In the first 12 minutes, Bryant made 7-of-11 shots from the field including 2-of-6 from the three point range for the Lakers, who made nearly 48 percent of their shots. The Bobcats in contrast managed only 26.9 percent shooting
with Walker having the highest point tally of 5.
Although Kobe was on the bench for the better part of the second quarter, the Lakers kept on toying with the Bobcats. They started with a 10-4 run to take an 18 point lead and then capped the quarter with a 14-4 blitz to carve
out a 60-36 lead at the break.
Andrew Bynum was hot in the second quarter with 10 points and had figures of 14 points and 8 rebound while Pau Gasol finished the half at 8 points and 5 assists.
For the Bobcats, Derrick Brown came off the bench and scored all of his 10 points in the second half. The Lakers made nearly 59 percent of their field goals in the stanza, reducing Charlotte to a meager 31.2 percent all the while.
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