The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Spurs Wednesday night in San Antonio, putting them just two losses away from starting their off-season. The Lakers had stretches of solid basketball, but the Spurs once again pulled away in the second half and dominated the Lakers on both ends of the court.
The Lakers were making an effort to feed the ball into the paint, but the big men were not shooting very well from the field, and that prevented them for ever really having control of the game. Pau Gasol had some success against the Spurs’ frontcourt in the first half, but as time went on, Gasol began to struggle mightily.
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Gasol spoke to ESPN, and he talked about what happened in the second half in which he shot one for six from the field.
“I didn’t get into a good rhythm out there,” Gasol said. “This first half was better, but in the second half, I struggled with my shot. I can’t be short on my shots; fatigue kicked in a little bit and I’m fighting through some stuff myself physically. But at this point, we’re in fight mode; we’ll fight through whatever is on the table. Try to stay alive in this series and fight for our lives.”
Overall, Gasol shot 5-14 from the court and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with his 13 points.
The Lakers did make some runs as the game approached its end, but the Spurs constantly responded with timely baskets. Los Angeles will have to make several adjustments for the next time they hit the court, which will be Game 3 Friday night in Staples Center, a must win for the Lakers.
