Los Angeles Lakers take another stride towards the 3-peat: Knock the New Orleans Hornets out of the playoffs, 98-80
On Thursday night at the New Orleans Arena, the New Orleans Hornets played a disappointing game as they lost out 98-80 against the two times defending champion, the
Los Angeles Lakers and surrendered the series 4-2. The result means the Lakers qualify for the next round of the playoffs while it is the end of the road for New Orleans.
Kobe Bryant had 24 points as he led the Lakers to victory and silenced the New Orleans crowd. Chris Paul, who has been the hero for New Orleans all series long, finished
two rebounds short of another triple double. His performance, however, was a far cry from the dominant showing in game-4, when he almost single handedly ensured that the series goes to six games. Chris only had 10 points and although he dished out 11 assists,
it was not enough to rally his team on the night.
The Hornets were led by Carl Landry with 19 points but no other player could manage more than12. Lakers have had an advantage all series in the form of their two
big guys, Andrew Bynum and Paul Gasol. Tonight was no different as they dominated in the paint, combining for 34 points, with Bynum getting 18 of those.
To be fair to the Hornets, they were always going to struggle against the reigning NBA champions. However, it was expected that home court advantage might spur them
to spring another upset against the Lakers. It wasn’t to be.
The Lakers played well right from the start as Kobe and company found their groove. Hornets did keep pace with the Lakers for the first half but as the game progressed,
the Lakers superiority started to become more evident.
Out-rebounding the Hornets on the offensive end by 14-7 in the game, and 43 – 30 overall, the Lakers started to pull away in the third. Hornets coach Monty Williams
was particularly upset with Andrew Bynum’s strength on the boards as he said after the game, "Every time he got an offensive rebound, it was deflating,"
With the largest lead of 12 points at the end of the third quarter for the Lakers, things were looking down for New Orleans.
Jason Smith started off the 4th quarter with a jumper to cut the lead to 10. But the Lakers responded with a 13-3 spurt after that, taking the lead to
20 points. Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown hit big shots in the run that effectively killed the game. Lakers led by double figures throughout the last quarter as they cruised to a comfortable victory.
Hornets coach Monty Williams subbed his starters late in the game so they could receive an ovation from the sell-out New Orleans Arena crowd.
Hornets’ talisman Chris Paul admitted after the game that the better team had won.
"We just lost to a really, really good team. It's obvious why they're the two-time defending champs," Paul said. "They did a really good job of closing the lane down.
... I still tried to find my spots, but the lane was packed.”
The Lakers will now face the winner of the Dallas Mavericks - Portland Trailblazers series on Monday.
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