Los Angeles Lakers beat New Orleans Hornets by 100-86 and lead the series, 2-1: NBA Play-offs Update
At the New Orleans Arena on Friday night, Los Angeles Lakers veteran guard Kobe Bryant blistered away with a game-high 30 points and 6 rebounds to spearhead his team for a comprehensive 100-86 victory over the strong-minded New Orleans Hornets. Pau Gasol
snapped his poor form and racked up a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards and supplied a significant support to the Lakers in leading the first round best-of-seven-game series by 2-1.
The visiting Lakers took the charge aggressively in the preliminary five minutes of the first quarter and romped with 16-10 run to clinch an early advantage. On the verge of cutting down the deficit, the prolific star Paul surged with a couple of successive
blows following a scorching blow from beyond the arc for the Hornet. However, Bryant’s line-up sustained the formidable assail from the sharp-shooter and ended the first quarter with 30-23 lead.
The leading scorer of the New Orleans, Paul was absolutely brilliant in the second quarter as well, who was keeping the fans on their toes. He landed 18 points before the halftime. However, his super effort resulted insufficient against the star power of
the visiting team. Andrew Bynum and Bryant carried the action for the Lakers in the second frame and combined for 13 points to amplify the advantage to 51-42 as the game progressed into the first half.
The All-star Bryant buried two blistering blows from downtown in the first minute of the third quarter and stretched the lead to 13 points. The Hornets strived to retaliate and went for 24-16 run to put the game in a thrilling situation. Gasol came in their
way landed two free-throws in the last 10 seconds as the Lakers entered the fourth quarter with 75-68 lead.
The spirited Lakers thrashed the opposition out of the game in the final 12 minutes when the Gasol joined the action with the frontrunner Bryant. The visiting team played a magnificent defensive game down the stretch and restricted the Hornets to 18 points
as the Lakers relished a comprehensive 100-86 win, accompanied with the brilliance of the legendary Bryant.
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