Los Angeles Lakers win against the New Jersey Nets, 100-88
Staples Centre had another breaking sell out as about 19,000 basketball fans enjoyed the match for a duration of 2 hours and 20 minutes. The lead changed four times and the game was tied eight times.
The Lakers won their seventh straight game and lowered the Nets to their 29th loss of the season. The only technical foul of the game was committed by Lamar Odom for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Stats
The Lakers went on a surge to keep the game going for them. Return of Brook Lopez to the Nets squished on a big turn for the Lakers who were led by Kobe Bryant. The player went shooting 10 for 19 from the field as he shot team high 27 points for zero bad
passes. Pau Gasol ignited the team with 20 points and nine rebounds whereas Odom added 14 points for 11 rebounds.
Lopez shined for the Nets as he went to score 35 points on a 13-19 shooting. The ace played for a duration of 37 minutes and was 9-11 from the free throw line.
Box Score
Player’ stats
Los Angeles Lakers (30-11)
Bryant shined with 27 points, grabbed four rebounds and gave four assists to his teammates. Gasol added 20 points and Ron Artest and Odom contributed 14 to the box score. The Lakers grabbed 10 team rebounds.
New Jersey Nets (10-29)
Lopez scored game high 35 points, Sasha Vujacic added 17 and Jordan Farmar dished out 12 points for the Nets. The team grabbed eight team rebounds.
Game stats
The Lakers played defensively whereas the Nets also kept their offence intact. The Nets went 45-38 in rebounds and grabbed 15-7 offensive rebounds. The Nets even smothered 12 turnovers to the winners and in return they gave them nine. Lakers outscored the
losing team in fast break points, 10-6.
The Lakers took the biggest lead with 12 points whereas the Nets were allowed to go with just four. The Lakers shot 36 points from the painted area whereas the Nets outscored them by hitting 44 from the same.
NBA Trades
Bryant later expressed his feelings about playing against him former teammates Farmar and Vujacic when he said, "These type of games are always the hardest for me like last year when we first played against Trevor [Ariza] because they're like
little brothers to me, literally." That was perhaps a very sweet comment coming from no. 24.
Turning point
Vujavic closed on the Lakers with a three pointer, going 78-76, but the Lakers reconciled against the move and surged a 9-0 run. This move stopped them at a 87-76 lead with just 5 minutes left in the buzzer, never did the Lakers relinquish after that.
Hottest player
The one player who was hot in every move he made was Lopez. He played with monster energy. The 7’0” tall player devoured 13 points in the first quarter and went for 12 in the third, trampling towards his 35 points. The round 1 pick 10’s career high is 37
and in this game he was just two points shy of his career best. He shot 13-19 from the field while going 9-11 from the free throw line.
Worth quoting!
The player later told to the reporters about his confrontation with Bryant, "(Kobe) was asking me why I hadn't played like this all year. This (aggressiveness) is something I want to do from here on out."
More to watch
For the Lakers, Sunday vs. Clippers, Monday vs. Oklahoma City, Wednesday @ Dallas.
For the Nets, Saturday @ Portland, Monday @ Golden State, Wednesday vs. Utah.
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