The Los Angeles Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs in the second game of a back-to-back, which is a situation the Lakers haven’t fared well in throughout the season. Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Spurs jumped on the Lakers and never let up.
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First Quarter
As a result of playing the previous night, the Lakers got off to another slow start Friday night. They shot 18.1 percent en route to a lowly 14 points in the opening quarter and struggled to slow the Spurs down. During one stretch, the Spurs made 10-of-12 baskets as they continued to extend their lead. Tim Duncan scored seven points, with all three of his field goals coming in the paint and he added six rebounds as the Spurs finished the quarter with a 29-14 lead.
Second Quarter
Trailing by 15 points at the start, the second quarter was much of the same for the Lakers. The Spurs continued to score in the paint at will and led by 20 points three minutes into the quarter. With the Lakers trailing by 22 points, Kent Bazemore went down in a heap of pain after being struck in the throat by an Aaron Baynes elbow. Bazemore immediately went to the bench, but returned for the final minutes of the quarter. Danny Green hit consecutive three-pointers and Matt Bonner later added another three-pointer to give the Spurs a 28-point lead. With a 32-point second quarter, the Spurs held a 27-point lead at halftime.
Third Quarter
Green continued his hot shooting at the start of the second half and had another stretch of consecutive three-pointers, which gave the Spurs a 70-36 lead. Gasol attempted to keep the Lakers in the game, but defensive lapses kept them from putting together any semblance of a run. With their bench players playing much of the quarter, the Spurs maintained a comfortable lead heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
The Lakers began the quarter trailing by 29 points and managed to put together an 8-2 run, which cut their deficit to 25. However, the Spurs responded with a 10-0 run out of the timeout and were able to empty their bench, which resulted in every player in uniform scoring. With the Spurs leading the entire second half, the Lakers lost 119-85.
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