With Kobe Bryant still out due to a shin injury and the Lakers visiting a high-powered Western Conference team, mostly no one expected Los Angeles to win, let alone blow out the Spurs. But, that’s exactly what happened last night as the Los Angeles Lakers (37-22) absolutely dominated the San Antonio Spurs (40-16) en route to a 98-84 victory on the road.
The two key players for the Lakers last night were Andrew Bynum (16 points, 30 rebounds, two blocks) and Metta World Peace (26 points on 10-15 shooting). Seemingly everyone contributed, but the aforementioned players really took it to the Spurs. And yes, in case you skimmed over that first line, that’s correct: Andrew Bynum had 30 rebounds. But, we’ll get into that later.
Here’s how the game played out:
The Lakers came out very solid in the first quarter and outscored the Spurs 24-21 on balanced scoring from their starters and 11 rebounds by Bynum.
In the second quarter, the Lakers took a 44-33 lead at one point, but San Antonio closed out the quarter strong and kept the game within reach. Los Angeles still outscored San Antonio 24-22 for a 48-43 lead at halftime fueled by Bynum’s 19 rebounds (eight offensive) at the time.
The third quarter was where the Lakers absolutely dominated, however. The Lakers outscored the Spurs 27-16 powered by Metta World Peace, who was doing everything on the court; hustling, getting steals, and hitting a variety of shots (he made five in a row at one point). World Peace had eleven points in the quarter to help put the Lakers up 75-59 going into the fourth.
The Lakers went up by 26 points at one point in the fourth quarter, but let the large lead slip away as they have done so many times recently. However, they never let the Spurs get into striking distance as Pau Gasol hit some key baskets towards the end to keep the lead in double digits.
The Lakers put on an extremely impressive performance and walked away with a 98-84 win.
The Numbers
As stated above, Andrew Bynum absolutely dominated the Spurs, especially defensively. Bynum grabbed an impressive 30 rebounds, scored 16 points, dished out two assists and blocked two shots. Metta World Peace led the Lakers in scoring with 26 points (on 10-15 shooting, 5-8 from three), and had four rebounds and two assists. Pau Gasol added 21 point, 11 rebounds, four assists, and one block while Matt Barnes also filled up the box score with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block. Ramon Sessions (five assists, three rebounds) and Steve Blake (three assists, three rebounds) added 10 points apiece. Josh McRoberts scored just two points, but did so on a thunderous one handed hammer dunk (McHammer as a new nickname, anyone?). Devin Ebanks, who started the game, was scoreless in 22 minutes of play.
For the Spurs, Danny Green led the way with 22 points (5-6 from three), three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Tim Duncan scored 14 points while Manu Ginobli (five assists, four rebounds) and Matt Bonner added nine points each. Patty Mills tallied 7 points, two rebounds, and two assists while Stephen Jackson managed six points, five rebounds, and two assists. Tiago Splitter had six points and James Anderson had five. Tony Parker scored just four points, but had eight assists and two rebounds while Kawli Leonard scored two points and grabbed five rebounds. Starting center DeJuan Blair grabbed four rebounds and had two dimes but was scoreless in 13 minutes of play.
Now, let’s break down the victory.
Next Page: The Breakdown