Los Angeles Lakers survive a late scare to edge out Charlotte Bobcats 101-100: NBA Recap
On a night when Pau Gasol returned to the starting lineup, the Los Angeles Lakers survived some scary final moments to carve out a 101-100 win against the lowly Charlotte Bobcats.
The Lakers have now won three games in a row. They were led by the ever dependable Kobe Bryant on the night. The star shooting guard scored a game-high 30 points on an 11 of 24 shooting, to go with six rebounds, 7 assists, a block and a steal. The Black Mamba put the Lakers up by 4 with 52 seconds left in the game, but after Ramon Sessions made a three point play, Kobe missed a crucial 21 footer, giving the Bobcats one last opportunity to win the game with 21 seconds to go.
The Bobcats however failed to utilize the opportunity. Kemba Walker, who led the Bobcats with 28 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and three steals, had his shot blocked by Dwight Howard with 5 seconds to go. Gerald Henderson grabbed the offensive rebound but missed a layup, only for Ben Gordon to have a last ditch effort, 26 foot apart from the cup. He missed, and the Lakers held on, improving their record to 12-14.
The Lakers used only three reserves on the night. Metta World Peace started off the bench and unloaded 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Jodie Meeks also contributed 17 on relief including 5 three pointers. Dwight Howard played for just 35 minutes but scored 16 points and hauled down a game-high 18 rebounds, nine of them being on the offensive end.
Gasol, returning after 8 games, seemed rusty. He was 3 of 10 from the floor for 10 points, but gave the Lakers 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks.
The Bobcats matched the Lakers in the first three quarters of the game. They were leading by 7 deep in the second quarter, before Kobe Bryant made a deuce to end the half at 58-53.
Cats started the third period with a 15-4 and were leading by as many as 18 near the mid quarter mark, before the Lakers bounced back with a 17-6 burst to cap the period at 77-84.
The Bobcats failed to score in the first 3:27 of the final period, and the Lakers pulled off a 13-0 run during that stretch to take a stronghold. Bobcats tried their heart out in the ensuing passage, but failed to connect when it really mattered.
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