The Lakers were looking to rebound from a poor performance against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and got their chance tonight. L.A. played much better than they played last Thursday, and were able to come away with the win, 116-99.
The Nuggets got off to a very hot start early, but the Lakers didn’t panic and stayed in the game. Led by hot shooting by Derek Fisher, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run, building a 39-29 lead after the first quarter- in which Fisher had 16. Kwame also came out aggressively, and while he missed a few layups, he converted two wide open dunks, getting the crowd behind him early.
One of the of the keys to the Lakers' strong first half start was the unselfish play of Kobe Bryant. Kobe came out looking to set up his teammates, and didn’t even attempt a shot until 5 minutes into the second quarter. But this was not the Kobe of old trying to prove a point. Rather, this was a Kobe that was playing like a less aggressive (and taller) Steve Nash. He was getting double teamed nearly every possession, but was consistently able to find the open player for uncontested shots. He finished the first half with 6 points on two field goal attempts to go along with five assists, and the Lakers were up by 10; 67-57.
In the 3rd quarter, Kobe picked up two quick fouls to put his total at 4 and relegate him to the bench. With their play maker on the bench, the Lakers lead began to dissipate, and the Nuggets even took a two point lead of their own. When Kobe returned he came out much more aggressive, and was hurting the team a little bit. As soon as Bryant got back into ball sharing mode, and stopped looking for his own shot, the Lakers started to pull away again. He drove and dished to Fisher for wide open threes and tossed an unbelievable, no-look, behind the back, pass to a trailing Ronny Turiaf for the showtime lay in as the Lakers regained the lead and never looked back.
In the fourth quarter the Lakers slowly built their lead, and even started playing defense. The starters were able to end their night early as the likes of Crittenton, Coby Karl and D.J. Mbenga (the Lakers newest signing) checked in. The reserves, led by some scrappy play by Jordan Farmar got the job done and even held the Nuggets to 99 to give the fans what they really wanted- Tacos.
Final thought-
One of the things I was looking to see in this game was how Kwame played. Would he be afraid to make a mistake after the treatment he got from the fans last game, or would he play his own game? The answer was an clearly the later. Kwame played with no fear of failure, and while he missed a few easy shots and got whistled for traveling and offensive fouls, it was good to see him come out aggressively. He hit the boards hard and finished with 11 rebounds, but his defense was still not there. He may still be slowed by injuries, but he often looked lost on defense and was blown by like a California stop-sign on several occasions. Overall it was a decent performance, and a marked improvement from the Phoenix game.
Player of the Game-
Derek Fisher shot the lights out tonight. He had 28 points (one shy of his career high) and hit 6-7 from downtown. While many have talked of Bynum's growth as the biggest part of the Lakers improvement this year, Fisher's contributions should not be overlooked. He is a huge upgrade from Smush Parker, and seems to be going through a late resurgence, having one of the best seasons of his career.
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