Kobe Bryant was absolutely on fire in the third quarter of Tuesday’s contest against the Hornets.
In true Mamba form, Bryant nailed his first seven shots of the period, and added his fourth three on his ninth attempt to go 8-for-9 for 20 points, almost single-handedly leading the Lakers to a 92-89 lead after L.A. had trailed by five at the half.
The problem was, however, that the home team couldn’t really get back into any kind of offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, whereas the Hornets seemingly couldn’t miss, nailing 8-of-12 shots in the final period to run out of town with a 116-105 victory.
David West made 10 of his 15 shots in the second half, plus 12-of-13 free throws for the game to finish with a game-high 40 points, while Chris Paul wreaked havoc on L.A.’s defense with 32 points and 15 assists without a turnover. It’d be easy to put West’s big night on the absence of Lamar Odom (who left the game towards the end of the second quarter with a hyper-extended knee, and will undergo an MRI tomorrow morning), since Odom’s the best defensive matchup L.A. has for the N.O. power forward. But West was routinely sinking 17-foot jumpers that were largely contested, and you almost have to simply tip your cap to the guy.
Bryant finished with 39 points, only two of which came in the fourth quarter, while Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum struggled to a combined 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Yet and still, Lakers fans shouldn’t read too much into this loss: A solid, highly-motivated opponent played great; L.A. was without three regulars (Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar) which threw off the rotations; and two 2007-08 All Stars were on fire.
A few numbers before we head to Golden State:
0
Turnovers for Chris Paul, who had the ball all night and assembled 15 dimes. That’s a decent assist-to-turnover ratio, Captain Obvious.
6
Three pointers made by both Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, on 20 total attempts. Fisher took 13 threes, while Bryant missed only one.
12
Points for Lamar Odom in 12 minutes, plus three assists and a board, before he left with his knee injury that didn’t look too bad at the time. Of course, you never know with knees, so the Lakers will cross their fingers and knock on some wood. Remember, Luke Walton’s out at least two weeks, and Farmar’s out until at least the All-Star break, it would appear.
20
Points in the third quarter for Bryant, who was in Mamba mode by cashing all four threes he attempted and missing only one of his nine FGAs.
24
Points in the paint for the Lakers, which is way below average.
50.6
Shooting percentage for the Hornets on 39-of-77, even more impressive since they weren’t effective from three (5-of-14), which is usually a strong suit.
