Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum star as the Los Angeles Lakers hold off a fourth quarter rally to make it 2 out of two.............
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum lead the way to help the Los Angeles Lakers snatch the Game 2 with a 104-100 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night here at the Staples Center. However, unlike the first game, they did not get
there easy as the Nuggets made the mighty Lakers work for it this time around.
Led by Bryant`s exquisite shooting from the field in the early goings, Lakers set off quickly. Even though Bryant slowed down in the second half, he still managed to shoot the ball 51.7% from the field, finishing up with 38 points.
What Kobe did from the outside, Bynum did it from the inside and was extremely dominant down low. He racked up 27 points along with 9 boards in the game. Ramon Sessions, in his first trip to the playoffs since adorning the Lakers
colours, came up big in the fourth quarter by getting 10 of his 14 points in the final period of the game.
The fourth starter for the Hollywood side who finished the game with double digit scores was Pau Gasol who racked up 13 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Nuggets, Ty Lawson was the leading scorer with 25 points; Kenneth Faried had 14 points but despite having 6 players making sizable contributions, it still came up a little short in the end.
Lakers got off and running in the matchup and held a 12-3 lead early. The Nuggets however responded with a 10-2 run of their own to make the score 13-14. Lakers put an end to that run, with a 6-0 run of their own and by the end
of first quarter were leading by 32-25.
Nuggets were the dominating side in the early goings of the second quarter, starting it with an 11-4 run to tie the game up at 36. Lakers however were in no mood to be bogged down and bounced back with 9-0 run with Bryant getting
7 of them.
At the half way stage, Lakers led by the same margin of 7 points equalling their lead after the first quarter with the scores being 55-48.
In the second half, the Lakers were able to quickly put together a 16-4 run to finally push their advantage into double figures. It seemed as though; both sides were taking turns to go on a run because this time the Nuggets responded
with an 18-4 run to make the score 70-75.
Denver, were making the most of their quick paced offence by getting into transitions to run ahead on fast breaks. This fast style of play enabled the Nuggets side to trail by just 74-81, after looking at a 19 point hole early
in the third period.
In the final quarter, Nuggets still had one last run left in them. In about 8 and half minutes of the frame, Denver outscored the Lakers 21-9 to make this one a two possession contest. Bynum put an end to that rally but completing
an and-one play on a Bryant assist.
Sessions and Bryant made a couple each from the free throw line down the stretch as the Lakers held on to make it 2-0 in the seven game series. Game-3 sees the proceedings shift to Denver on Friday.
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