Los Angeles Lakers edge out the New Orleans Hornets 111-106: NBA Recap
Los Angeles Lakers brushed aside the New Orleans Hornets 111-106 here at the Staples Center on Tuesday night.
Dwight Howard led the Lakers with 24 points; Kobe Bryant fell two rebounds short of a triple-double, while Earl Clark posted another double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
"We're doing a good job of not being selfish, and of doing whatever we can to help our team win," Howard said. "Things are clicking for us. Our offense is a lot smoother, and on defense we're really holding each other accountable."
Eric Gordon led the Hornets with 25 points; Greivis Vasquez had 15 points and the same number of assists while Anthony Davis chipped in with 18 points for the Hornets.
"A lot of our guys didn't have the game they've been having, for whatever reason, but we did have the kind of output, effort and intensity in the second half to compete against a team like that." commented Hornets head coach Monty
Williams on the tough match up against Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers took some time to get things going and the first quarter was quite close. Hornets were trailing by one point at the end of it.
Lakers started picking up momentum in the second period and outscored the Hornets 29-18 in to go into the locker room holding a 12 point advantage. Things were looking grim for the Hornets at the half, but they tried really hard
in the third period and managed to outscore the Lakers by 2 points.
Hornets kept on pressing in the last 12 minutes. They gave it their all, and outscored the Lakers 33-28 but it was not enough on the night.
Hornets made it a 4 point game at one stage as they cut the deficit down to 96-100, but Lakers held their ground. Vasquez made a jumper to make it a one point game on 101-102 with only 2:05 on the regulation, but Clark made a layup
and Steve Nash nailed a three pointer to seal the deal.
The Lakers will take on the Phoenix Suns next, who are tied at the bottom place of the Western Conference.
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