Los Angeles - On Sunday, just like how the storm clouds dispersed after several days of rain- the retro unis of the Los Angeles Lakers suddenly seemed as bright as the Southern California sunshine.
The forecast was warm with patches of clouds. The outcome - sunshine with clear blue skies.
In a Heritage Week match-up, the Lakers hosted the Golden State Warriors in front of a packed Staples Center crowd. The Lakers had beat the Warriors in its past 8 meetings. The result of this game was to continue that trend of purple and gold dominance.
The home team pulled out all stops as 7 Lakers scored in double digits and beat the Warriors, 123-113. They extended their win streak against Golden State to 9.
In the first quarter, Baron Davis did what Baron Davis does best - pushing the tempo and unloading from distance. He along with Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis put the Warriors in a good position, scoring 59 at the half and putting them well on track for their league-best of 110 points per game.
But the Lakers seemed content with playing along at this breakneck speed. They would score 60 points by halftime, with a dazzling array of plays from Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar, the core players part of the second youngest team in the league.
The story of the game was Bynum, who established his presence in the paint early on - overpowering the Warriors, and scoring 20 points which tied his career best. He also finished with 11 boards and 5 blocks.
The Warriors proved once again their knack for the fast break and the three point shot, but only converted 8 of 33 taken from beyond the arc. They seemed to lose steam in the second half, as the Lakers' defense applied pressure on the perimeter, forcing the Warriors into tough shots.
Another bright spot for the Lakers was the impressive play from newly acquired small forward, Trevor Ariza. He got significant minutes as Luke Walton did not play due to his recovering injury. He showed flashes of brilliance at both ends, wowing the crowd with his tremendous leaping ability and almost completing a monster dunk on the baseline.
In the fourth, the Warriors were still unrelenting in their offense, but were over-matched on this particular night, as Kobe Bryant's clutch jumpers, Lamar Odom's passing, Derek Fisher's timely three pointers, and Ronny Turiaf's strong post moves, opened up the lead for good.
After the next couple days of rest, the Lakers will be put to the test, as they go to San Antonio to play the defending champion Spurs who own the league's second best record and are 12-0 at home thus far in the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment