San Antonio Spurs take down Los Angeles Lakers 84-82 in a thriller: NBA Recap
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 37 points as the San Antonio Spurs dropped the Los Angeles Lakers 84-82 here at Staples Center on Tuesday night.
The Lakers haven't scored fewer than 80 points in 147 games against the Spurs now, but they certainly missed their two top guards Steve Nash and Steven Blake who were both out with injuries. Their replacement
Darius Morris struggled tonight with 1 point and 1 assist in his 20 minutes, going 0 out of 5 from the floor.
Tim Duncan scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Tony Parker had 19 points and 7 assists and Daniel Green chipped in with 11 points for the Spurs.
"We executed the play very well. Of course, you still have to knock it down and Danny did. Timmy [Duncan] set a great screen. It worked out for us." -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.
Kobe Bryant was the player of the night as he gathered 28 points and had 8 assists, while Dwight Howard got a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.
The Spurs got off to a great start and were 10-2 up in no time. But the Lakers responded with a 14-0 run to go up 16-10. Bryant zipped in a three pointer to put the Lakers up by 21-14 before Tony Parker cut down
the deficit by four as he made two back to back field goals. Jordan Hill’s free throws closed the quarter at 24-18 for the Lakers.
Spurs came back early in the second and two free throws by DeJuan Blair cut the deficit to 25-26. It was pretty close for the next few minutes as the score was tied may times and the lead kept switching hands.
The Spurs were trailing by just 38-39, 1:28 minutes from the halftime before five quick points by the Lakers had them up 43-38 by halftime.
Back to back deuces opened the third period for the Spurs as they cut the deficit to 42-43 immediately. Daniel Green nailed a three pointer a minute later to tie the score at 45.
In the ensuing passage, the Lakers scored 4 in a row before Stephen Jackson fired a three pointer to kick off a 7-0 run for the Spurs that had them up by 52-49. The lead changed hands many time after that, and
by the time the teams headed into the fourth quarter, Spurs held a paltry one point lead, 60-59.
This could have be any body’s game as the score was tied 7 times in the final period alone. It was tied at 79 with 1:36 left on the regulation. Gasol’s jumper gave Lakers a crucial 82-79 advantage but a Duncan
jump shot made it a 1 point game at 81-82.
Green then stole the show when he sunk in a 3 pointer with 9.3 seconds on the clock to gave the Spurs a decisive 84-82 lead. Gasol missed a desperation 3 pointer as Spurs defended the last few seconds to sneak
in a victory.
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