With the retirement of Phil Jackson, the Lakers entered the 2011-12 NBA season with a new head coach in Mike Brown. Under Brown, Lakers center Andrew Bynum put up the best numbers of his career. As a focal point of Brown’s system, Bynum earned his only All-Star selection of his career. In a regular season matchup, Bynum demonstrated why he deserved the bid against the Houston Rockets.
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The Lakers started the game strong by taking a 31-25 lead after the first quarter. In particular, Bynum grabbed seven rebounds while scoring eight points in the opening frame. The Lakers’ offense slowed down during the second quarter only scoring 19 points. Fortunately for the Lakers, their defense remained strong and held a four point lead at the break with Bynum grabbing seven more rebounds.
The Rockets came within to end the third quarter, but the Lakers rode a dominant forth quarter and outscored the Rockets by eight. Bynum finished the night with 21 points and 22 rebounds for his first career 20-20 game. Kobe Bryant added 37 point of his own to help the Lakers come out on top 108-99.
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