The Los Angeles Lakers (36-22) were able to pull out a 93-91 victory over the New Orleans Hornets (15-42) last night on the road, despite being without their star player, Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers led 21-19 after the first quarter on six points apiece by Pau Gasol, Ramon Sessions and Devin Ebanks.
They held a one point lead by halftime, 44-43, behind 15 points from Gasol. Chris Kaman had 12 points at the end of the first half, as did Carl Landry off the bench.
The third quarter, however, wasn’t as favorable for the Lakers, as they were outscored 29-21 in the period and entered the fourth quarter looking up at a 72-65 deficit. Ramon Sessions had eight points and Andrew Bynum had seven in the third.
In the fourth, the Lakers trailed by eight points with just over six minutes left to play in the game. However, behind solid play and defense from just about everyone on the floor (a combination of Ramon Sessions, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum), the Lakers began to cut the lead down.
Steve Blake hit a three-pointer on one play, and on the other end of the floor Andrew Bynum blocked a shot that led to a hoop by Pau Gasol, which cut the lead to two with just over four minutes to play, 84-82.
New Orleans would score, but Bynum kept the Lakers within two with a bucket of his own with under three minutes left to play. Steve Blake drew an offensive foul on New Orleans directly after this to give the Lakers another possession.
Blake hit a layup moments later, and Gasol blocked Chris Kaman on the other end of the floor. Then, Metta World Peace dropped in a huge three-pointer, giving the Lakers a three point advantage with just over 1:30 left on the clock, 89-86.
With 28.5 seconds left in the game, and just 3.2 seconds left on the shot-clock, the Lakers had to make a play out of a timeout. They likely wanted to get the ball inside, but World Peace–who in-bounded the ball along the baseline–saw an open Ramon Sessions behind the three point line and threw a high pass to him. Sessions caught the ball, shot it, and made the basket with 26 seconds left.
The Hornets came right back, however, as Greivis Vasquez dropped in a quick three-pointer of his own, cutting the lead once again to three, 92-89.
The Hornets played the foul game, and it gave them a chance as Pau Gasol missed one of two free throws with nine seconds left. Down by four points, Chris Kaman scored with 1.2 seconds left, cutting the lead to just two.
Then, a strange play occurred. Metta World Peace–who was in-bounding the ball–threw the ball to the opposite side of the court to Matt Barnes in an effort to run out the clock without getting fouled again . However, Jason Smith was right there and nearly got to the ball if not for Barnes tracking down the ball and fighting for possession. Barnes gained possession and time ran out, but the dangerous play was much discussed after the game.
Mike Brown called Barnes’ retrieval of the ball a “steal” instead of a caught pass because of how close it was from going into Smith’s hands. World Peace, who triggered the play, said it was the right play because it was the correct math, noting that he majored in math in college. According to him, he knew Barnes would get the ball because he is quick, and Smith, who is seven feet tall and less athletic, wouldn’t be able to get to the ball in time.
It looked like a dangerous play, but we will take Metta World Peace’s mathematical explanation as credible.
The Numbers
Pau Gasol led the way for the Kobe-less Lakers with 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 11 rebounds while Ramon Sessions tallied 17 points (on 5-9 shooting), six rebounds, and six assists. Matt Barnes and Steve Blake were contributors off the bench as Barnes had nine points and eight rebounds while Blake added eight points and four assists. Metta World Peace scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists. Devin Ebanks, who started in place of Bryant, scored six points. Troy Murphy scored just two points off the bench, and Josh McRoberts was scoreless in 12 minutes of play.
As for the Hornets, Marco Belinelli and Carl Landry led the way. Belinelli scored 20 points and Carl Landy put up 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists off the bench. Greivis Vasquez scored 18 points, and pulled down 11 rebounds while Chris Kaman tallied 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Jason Smith had eight points and three rebounds while Al-Farouq Aminu scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. Xavier added six rebounds, two rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes of play.
Now, let’s break down the victory:
Next Page: The Breakdown
Here are a few aspects of last night’s 93-91 victory we will examine:
Rebounds – We always talk about rebounds, and today is no different. The Lakers absolutely dominated the boards against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday (out-rebounding the Suns 54-36) but still lost. They didn’t quite match that dominance last night, but still got the job done with a 46-35 rebounding advantage. Rebounds don’t always equate to a victory, but for the Lakers, out-rebounding the opposing team is almost always a necessity as they feature two dominant seven-footers.
Pau Gasol/Andrew Bynum – When Andrew Bynum went down with an ankle injury, Pau Gasol stepped up. Similarly, now that Kobe Bryant has been missing time, Gasol has been stepping up. On Saturday versus the Suns, Pau put up 30 points and 13 rebounds and last night he had 25 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Both Gasol and Bynum must step up in Kobe’s absence, but it will be up to Gasol to carry the team offensively.
Bynum has struggled in Kobe’s two-game absence, connecting on just 39 percent of his shot attempts compared with his average of 57 percent on the season. He has been taking nine more shots per game in Kobe’s absence as well (22 attempts without Kobe compared with 13 with him). Gasol, however, has maintained his 52 percent average while attempting 10 more shots per game (23 per game without Kobe, and 14 with Kobe).
This can be attributed to Bynum’s continued progression. This season he came in ready to be the second option and has learned to play against double-teams throughout the year. However, now that defenses are focusing solely around he and Pau Gasol, his deficiencies are being exposed. He is learning very quickly, but is still learning. It is no secret that the attention Kobe draws from defenses and Gasol’s savvy play-making abilities have greatly benefited Andrew Bynum.
That is why it will be up to Gasol to carry the team for the remainder of Kobe’s absence. Gasol may not have been playing up to his standards early in the year for whatever reason, but he is still the second best player on this team. Not only that, but he must continue to assert himself when Kobe does get back, because when he is playing aggressive alongside Kobe and Bynum, this is a tough team to beat. Bynum will undoubtedly overcome his slumping shooting percentage, but should recommit himself to defense and rebounding first; and he appears to have done so as of late.
Defense – The Lakers recommitted themselves to defense after giving up 125 points to the Suns on Saturday. They didn’t play exceptional defense throughout, but were able to pull out the stops and come back from a deficit in the fourth quarter to prevail. They will have to continue to reassert their defense going forward into the playoffs.
Ramon Sessions – Ramon Sessions is proving to be exactly what the Lakers needed. Last night he got easy buckets, played the pick-and-roll to his advantage and attacked the basket, set up his teammates, and hit clutch shots. He is a capable player that the Lakers desperately needed, and has performed well in the absence of Kobe Bryant. He must continue to assert himself more and more offensively, however, especially if Bryant is out longer. The composure and balance he has shown thus far has been remarkable though.
Steve Blake – Blake has been criticized a bit lately for not hitting his shots or being aggressive enough. Last night, however, he played a very solid game. He drew at least two offensive fouls, made plays for his teammates, and hit a few key shots down the stretch. As long as he maintains his confidence and increases his overall aggressiveness, Blake will be a huge key for the Lakers going forward. Matt Barnes always does the intangibles to involve himself into the game. Perhaps Steve Blake can follow his lead as he did last night.
Road Win – The Lakers started out the year as a horrible road team, but have picked it up as of late. The fact that they won a game on the road without Kobe is a huge plus for them. The fact that they managed to come from being down in the fourth quarter to emerge with a victory is even more of a plus. The Lakers last night appeared motivated and looked like the veteran team that they are; Pau Gasol took on the challenge and stepped up, Metta World Peace was out there communicating and coordinating with his teammates on offense and defense, and the team collectively knew when it was time to quit playing around and play some defense.
At the end of the day, the Lakers beat a team they should have beat on the road. It was just good to see them pull together and finish strong at the end.