San Antonio Spurs down Los Angeles Lakers 108-105: NBA Recap
San Antonio Spurs held off the late surge by the Los Angeles Lakers, handing them their 5th straight loss with a 108-105 win here at the AT&T Center on Wednesday night. Spurs almost blew a 16 point fourth quarter lead
and an Earl Clark effort from distance hit the rim at the buzzer in a tight finish.
Tony Parker had 24 points and 6 assists to lead the Spurs. Manu Ginobili came off the bench to add 19 points, going 2 of 7 from the three point land, while Tiago Splitter finished posted a double-double with 14 points and the same
number of rebounds.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers on the night with 27 points and 5 assists; Metta World Peace contributed 23 points and hauled down 8 rebounds while Earl Clark collected a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds for the night.
"We have lost five games in a row, [so] it is pretty self-explanatory. We played very hard and I think we figured a few things out. [Earl Clark] sits right next to me on plane rides, so I talk to him and he always tells me that
he is ready to play. He played phenomenal against a heck of a team, so I was very impressed." commented Kobe after the game.
The Spurs got to a fast start to the game as they raced to a 19-11 advantage 7:29 minutes into the game. They kept pulling ahead and Tiago Splitter made a running hook shot that pushed their lead to 24-17 by the end of the period.
The momentum was with the Spurs, who kept on pulling ahead in the second quarter. Parker scored 2 from the foul line to put the Spurs up by 10 points around the mid quarter mark. San Antonio maintained their advantage till the
halftime as they led by 54-45 by the end of the second period.
Spurs reserves took over and allowed their superstars some resting time on the bench. However there was no let up in energy and pressure as the Spurs took a double-digit lead into the final quarter.
San Antonio were enjoying a solid 14 points lead at one stage before the Lakers started cutting the deficit later in the fourth period. The Lakers reduced the gap down to 102-105 when Ginobili made a crucial three pointer to put
the Spurs up by 6 points with less than a minute to go in the game as the Spurs survived for a 108-105 win eventually.
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