Vintage Kobe Bryant helps Los Angeles Lakers trump Miami Heat 93 – 83 – NBA Recap
The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business at the Staples Center with a 93 – 83 win over Eastern Conference power house the Miami Heat and once again had Kobe Bryant to thank for a sublime effort. The Lakers led for most of the game and Bryant turned on
the magic just when the Heat looked like making a comeback.
Kobe scored a total of 33 points, the highest in the game, as he outshone the super stars of Miami. He had good support from the likes of Metta World Peace, 17 points and 7 rebounds, Pau Gasol, 11 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Bynum made a significant impact
on his own with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
"Kobe continues to be efficient night in and night out. But I thought that not only was he efficient on the offensive end of the floor, but I thought defensively he was pretty good too." Lakers coach Mike Brown said after the game, clearly pleased with Kobe.
On the other hand, LeBron James wasn’t quite the dominating force he recently has been. The Heat forward still put up huge numbers; 25 points and 13 rebounds. He did concede that the side missed the presence of Chris Bosh and that Los Angeles were the better
team on the night.
"We could have definitely used him (Bosh) the last couple of games, but we gave ourselves a chance to win in Utah. Today was a little bit different. They played exceptionally well. That's a really good team. They're 17-2 at home for a reason. We gave it
everything we had, and when you do that, you can be satisfied."
Other than LeBron, Dwyane Wade scored 16 points for the Heat while Mario Chalmers had 15.
It was the first time Kobe came up against Wade after the latter had injured the former in the All Star game. The fans expected some fireworks and a masked Kobe Bryant didn’t disappoint with a terrific display in the opening quarter.
Behind Kobe’s 18 points, Los Angeles dominated the segment and finished with a 28 – 20 lead.
The second period didn’t have too many talking points. Los Angeles seemed in control for the most part and were able to extend their lead to double digits by halftime, 50 – 38.
After the break Miami brought a little more intensity to their game. The Lakers did a good job of making it physical and slowed down the Heat’s charge. Even though the visitors got to within two points, 64 – 62, the Lakers used a 7 – 0 burst to end the segment
in a comfortable position at 71 – 62.
It was a similar story in the last 12 minutes. The Heat never were able to build up a head of steam. Kobe hit some big shots that broke Miami’s resolve whenever they looked threatening. In a physical contest that had seen tensions rise between James and
some Lakers players earlier, Wade let the moment get the better of him and fouled out before the end.
Los Angeles thus eased home, 93 – 83.
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