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Read about the Lakers vs. Nuggets Game 3 as it unfolds. As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Game 1
Lakers - Nuggets Running Diary, May 19, 2009
Lakers 105, Nuggets 103: Postgame

Game 2
Lakers - Nuggets Running Diary, May 21, 2009
Lakers 103, Nuggets 106: Postgame

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison, Sun Yue
Nuggets: Sonny Weems, Steven Hunter

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Gasol and Bynum
Nuggets: Billups, Jones, Anthony, Martin and Nene

Phil Jackson Pregame
Phil said he talked to Andrew Bynum after practice yesterday, explaining that eight minutes is the maximum he can play at full speed. Basically, Jackson is suggesting that Bynum’s activity level dwindles if he plays too many minutes. “We’re trying to monitor his level of conditioning,” he said. “If I see an opportunity to use him, I will … I don’t have any trouble with Andrew. We sit next to each other in the film room (and discuss things).” Jackson also noted that Derek Fisher hasn’t been a problem defensively, as he’s spent little time on Chauncey Billups, and said that Lamar Odom didn’t find a comfort zone in Game 2 as a rebounder or transition operator.

George Karl Pregame
Karl said the difference between his Nuggets at home and on the road is that the fans help with defensive intensity, and that they don’t have to rely on their stars as much since at least two role players seem to step up various portions of their game (3-point shooting in particular). He also talked about Carmelo Anthony getting out of the First Round having really helped his confidence, and how much his perimeter jumper has improved.

Adam Morrison: Video Game King
In news completely unrelated to and irrelevant for Saturday’s game, as I “tweeted” this afternoon, Adam Morrison is the best FIFA Soccer video game player I’ve ever seen. He deserves ample respect, though he is challenged by Luke Walton … who “completely copied my game,” according to Morrison. Walton also competes well in NCAA Football ‘09 with Jordan Farmar, while Farmar adds NBA 2K9 to his arsenal. Lakers.com will take its shot at Farmar on Sunday afternoon, and we’ll let you know how it goes.

First Quarter
12:00 Denver’s fans set a new 2008-09 season record for “Most Disparaging Remarks About an Opponent” during pauses in the National Anthem. In other game ops news, Houston’s intro was much, much better, but the Pepsi Center faithful are certainly amped.

11:33 Which two players were being chastised for 48 hours? Bynum and Fish … Who opened with a block and a deep jumper, respectively, for L.A.

9:07 The game started to look like Game 2’s final five minutes, with ten consecutive free throws taken. Denver hit 5-of-6, Fisher missed two and Bryant made two as Denver led 9-6. Meanwhile, neither Bynum nor Gasol had touched the ball in the paint on five offensive possessions.

7:48 L.A. finally got the idea by posting Bynum and Gasol on consecutive possessions. Bynum missed his shot, but Gasol didn’t. Bryant followed with an easy layup, then Fisher stripped Billups and fed Ariza for a 6-point-run-capping layup. L.A. 12, Denver 11.

6:06 Bynum swatted Jones for his second block, but was called for his second foul trying to block Nene on the put-back attempt, bringing Odom into the game. Bynum had two blocks, missed both his shots and didn’t grab a rebound, though Gasol grabbed three. Not a great box score, but Denver didn’t get anything easy at the rim.

4:37 The Lakers weren’t getting very good looks from their offense until Bryant found Fisher for a wide-open back door layup, but Denver hit three straight jumpers at the other end (two from Anthony) to take a 21-15 lead.

3:32 L.A. continued to give away some easy points, turning the ball over on a 3-on-1 break as Ariza lost the ball to Anthony and Fisher fouled him. ‘Melo’s free throws (bonus) put Denver up six, and after a Gasol baseline miss, Martin found Chris Andersen with a pretty behind-the-back pass to push the lead to 25-17.

2:37 Walton missed L.A.’s fourth and fifth free throws of the quarter as Denver.

0:01.7 Odom finished off a pretty spin move at the bucket, following a 20-foot jumper from Farmar (and a bad Anthony miss from three in transition) to cut Denver’s lead to just two points after one. Considering that the Lakers really didn’t play well, missed six free throws and didn’t hit a three, they’d take it.
Continue reading ‘Lakers - Nuggets Running Diary 3′

Read about the Lakers vs. Nuggets Game 1 as it unfolds. As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison, Sun Yue
Nuggets: Sonny Weems, Steven Hunter

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Gasol and Bynum
Nuggets: Chauncey Billups, Dahntay Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene

Matchups the Key
In the NBA playoffs, it’s often a matchup game … Who’s got more advantages? We took a look at each of the position-by-position contests that will play out on the floor in our complete Western Conference Finals preview, but here’s a hint: Denver, like most teams, will have trouble with the Bynum - Gasol combination.

Pregame Video Scouting Report
Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen sat down with us to preview Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, explaining why Denver’s improved defensively, talking about George Karl’s 30-30-30 formula and the importance of Chauncey Billups. To watch the video, CLICK HERE.

Layoff Warning
It’s been six days since the Nuggets last played (Wed., May 13), the same number of days L.A. had off before the Houston series. The Lakers struggled to get it going early in that Game 1 loss to Houston … Will Denver be ready to play?

First Quarter
12:00 STAPLES off to a strong start with a Dick Van Dyke National Anthem and an Elgin Baylor ball delivery.

11:45 Billups opened the game with a jumper off a screen, which preceded a Jones’ FT and ‘Melo layup off Ariza’s bad pass to start 5-0.

10:20 L.A.’s first bucket came in a fortunate way, with Ariza’s rainbow baseline J swishing through after spending a good three seconds in the air. I’ll say this … The 6 p.m. local start is a bit deflating for L.A. since many fans have yet to arrive (not that it’s anyone’s fault for having to stay at work, get stuck in traffic and deal with the American Idol craziness).

8:06 Bryant’s put-back layup followed back-to-back jumpers from Anthony, one a top-of-the-key three, that had L.A. down 10-4.

7:08 An open dunk from Nene countered Bynum’s hoop in the paint, and the Lakers trailed by eight heading into the first time out. I’d questioned if the long layoff would affect Denver’s early energy, and boy was that off base. Even if the Lakers missed some wide open looks and Denver made 6-of-8, the Nuggets certainly controlled the tempo. Also, Gasol barely touched the ball on offense.

6:33 Everything going Denver’s way as Martin made his second straight line drive from 15 feet.

4:03 Bynum scored on the baseline for his second hoop, but the bigger story was the ease with which Denver was getting open looks and scoring, as proven by another easy layup from Nene. Many, including myself, thought the Lakers would come out with the same defensive intensity that stifled the Rockets to 12 first quarter points in Sunday’s Game 7, but we’d certainly yet to see that in the opening minutes.

3:18 Down 20-12, Jackson inserted Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton. In related news, CLICK HERE for a pregame story on Odom’s back. Some interesting matchups: Bryant on Billups; Walton on Anthony and Vujacic on also-checked in J.R. Smith.

2:32 Martin ran uncontested through the lane for Denver’s third dunk.

1:50 Anthony nailed a three for his 14th point, looking completely locked in. Almost shocking how easily the Nuggets were scoring, though Gasol mercifully answered with an and-1 to make it a 27-17 game.

0:40.0 Two big momentum plays from Vujacic, who hustled to poke a defensive board out of Billups’ reach, then nailed a corner three at the other end. Denver continued to make everything (Martin on the baseline), but Shannon Brown hit L.A.’s second three in 25 seconds to cut the lead to eight.

0:02.2 Billups missed two free throws that allowed L.A. to stay within eight at 31-23, which really didn’t reflect Denver’s domination of the first quarter.

Leading the way? Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 14.5 points against the Lakers in the regular season, but in the first quarter went for 16 on 7-of-8 shooting.
Continue reading ‘Lakers - Nuggets Running Diary 1′

Read about the Lakers vs. Rockets Game 6 as it unfolds. As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Game 1
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 4, 2009
Lakers 92, Rockets 100: Postgame

Game 2
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 6, 2009
Lakers 111, Rockets 98: Postgame

Game 3
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 8, 2009
Lakers 108, Rockets 94: Postgame

Game 4
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 10, 2009
Lakers 87, Rockets 99: Postgame

Game 5
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 12, 2009
Lakers 118, Rockets 78: Postgame

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison, Sun Yue
Rockets: Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutombo, Yao Ming

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Gasol and Bynum
Rockets: Brooks, Battier, Artest, Scola, Hayes

Shannon Brown Pregame
Quick … Who’s leading the NBA in postseason 3-point field goal percentage? Um, Chauncey Billups? (nope, third) … Mike Bibby? (no, fourth) … Eddie House? (uh uh, seventh). It’s Shannon Brown, who’s nailed 10-of-16 bombs from deep for a 62.5 percent success rate (Trevor Ariza’s in fifth, by the way, shooting 53.1 percent). I spent a few minutes with Brown in the locker room before the game, and he first credited his teammates with getting him open shots, and rightfully so. While he said his stroke feels fantastic, he also made sure to credit each one of L.A.’s coaches (he named each individually) with helping him maintain confidence to take the shot when he’s open. Luckily for L.A., he’s been listening.

Adelman: All about “Activity”:
I asked Rockets head coach Rick Adelman why Houston got fewer good looks in Game 5 than in Game 4, and he said it was L.A.’s activity more than any switch in scheme or adjustment. Basically, the Lakers worked harder to get in lanes and contest shots, and Houston had trouble dealing with it.

First Quarter
12:00 Loved the short National Anthem. Always a boost. Alas, keep an eye on the first five minutes, because in Game 3, L.A. led 13-5 at that point. In Game 4, it was 12-4 Rockets.

11:20 L.A. could have had an open alley-oop to Bynum, but Ariza threw a bounce pass instead that went out of bounds. Scola responded with a jumper and then two free throws after Bryant missed a J, and finally capped a personal 6-0 run with a turnaround move on Bynum (9:59).

9:22 L.A.’s first point was an Ariza free throw, which Brooks countered with a floater and Artest a breakaway dunk when Gasol turned it over.

7:28 Really? Anyone else shocked that the Lakers were again unable to match Houston’s opening salvo? With the energy level extremely high for Houston on defense, L.A. started 0-of-6, including two really good looks from Bynum and four misses from Bryant. The Rockets had no such trouble in nailing 5-of-8 shots to open the quarter, including a Brooks three that forced a Phil Jackson timeout. Rockets 13, Lakers 1 (no typo).

7:20 Jackson inserted Walton and Odom in for Ariza and Bynum, but Fisher missed an open three and Scola first spun around Odom for a deuce, then turned another Fisher miss into another bucket in the paint. That gave Scola 10 points, and the Rockets a 17-1 lead.

6:20 Bryant’s basline drive made it 17-3, a point better than Houston’s 17-4 start in Game 4. But Scola scored again, easily, in the paint, and Gasol missed an open jumper. L.A. couldn’t get close despite having plenty of open looks.

2:46 Even Chuck Hayes (averaging 0.9 points in the postseason) was getting into it for Houston, but the Lakers finally hit some shots (three straight) to make it 23-9.

1:59 The good news for L.A.? Bryant started going to the hoop and Fisher hit his first jumper after three misses to make it 23-9, which was three points less than their Game 4 deficit at this time.

1:23 Farmar immediately contributed with a three, but Scola continued his career best quarter with another jumper. How about 14 points for Scola on 6-of-9? Yikes.

0:14.3 Another triple from Farmar cut the deficit to 12 … Think Jackson’s staying with the UCLA product? He was the key in L.A.’s 12-6 run to close a quarter down 27-15 after at one point being down 21-3.

L.A. hit just 6-of-20 shots (30 percent), while Houston made twice that, 12-of-21 (57 percent), numbers that should start to even out as the game progresses.

Second Quarter
11:22 Good start for the Lakers, who got a Bryant bucket and two Brown free throws (thanks to an Odom swat of Scola) to cut the lead to eight.

9:50 Big counter from the Rockets, who watched Battier and Artest nail back-to-back threes to erase L.A.’s solid open.

5:50 Von Wafer’s three followed a Lowry hoop to give Houston a 42-25 lead, its biggest of the quarter.

5:35 Bryant, fresh off the bench, stuck a jumper. He’ll need a few more of those. The rhythm of the game has turned from all Houston to back and forth, but the Lakers clearly need to do more than trade hoops.

2:50 Bryant’s been able to drive by Artest all series, and he did it again to get a Lakers layup. L.A. may have built on it as Kobe swatted a Battier layup attempt and got Ariza an open three, but Ariza missed … Then Bynum missed his follow up to an offensive board, rushing the shot with his left hand, and Houston got another Scola hoop at the other end (18 points).

2:03 Bryant drew a technical foul for making contact with Artest after Ron-Ron fouled him. It was hard to see what happened from here, but Artest reacted as if Bryant had given him a Mike Tyson right hook. After Brooks hit the T, Bryant made his two free throws, and seemed to settle matters with a conversation with Artest. It appeared as if Bryant were trying to get Artest’s hands off him, and he caught Ron lightly on the face with his arm? You tell me.

0:40.3 Ariza drew a blocking foul on Hayes (his third) but missed 1-of-2 from the line, L.A’s fourth miss (two each for him and Odom). Farmar then fouled Brooks near midcourt, and he hit both to put Houston up 15.

0:26.7 L.A. should hope the Rockets keep Artest on him at times … Bryant blew by him for a two-handed dunk.

0:03.0 An end-of-shot clock three from Brooks was just about fitting for that first half, and it put Houston up 52-36 at the break. In Game 4, Houston led 54-36 in a relatively similar game. The Rockets shot 51 percent to L.A.’s 31 percent, made five threes and turned the ball over just four times.

Third Quarter
11:37 Some good ball movement earned Fisher an open three, but he missed again … Ariza made up for it, however, with a steal and two-handed breakaway dunk at the other end.

10:20 Big hit from Ariza, from downtown, and L.A. had the quarter’s first five points. Ariza then drew a pushing foul on Artest at the other end, and No. 3 had in two minutes changed the tune of the game, because Gasol nailed a lefty hook at the other end to cut the lead to nine.

9:16 Gasol’s tap out on a missed triple fell into Bryant’s hands, and a blocking foul earned two free throws that made it 52-45. The TV timeout had preceded the free throws, which meant the crowd wasn’t able to get as elevated since Bryant hit both.

7:03 Bryant for three, end of shot clock, and a Gasol layup cut the lead to only four. L.A. had basically earned itself a whole new ball game.

6:09 Solid couple of defensive plays from Bynum, including a contest of Scola and rebound … Then two Bryant FTs cut the lead to 54-52, a 16-2 run to start the quarter.

4:20 The tenor of the game had changed, but in case anyone thought the resilient Rockets were going to lay down, they reeled off an 8-2 run to go back up by eight, capped by a corner three from Brooks.

3:40 Jackson has to like how aggressive Bryant’s been going to the hoop, which again resulted in two free throws. He hit again in the paint a possession later to get to 27 points on 20 shots.

1:19 Farmar, who came in around the 4-minute mark, nailed a corner three to cut the lead to five before Artest and Gasol traded hoops.

0:05.4 A momentum changing shot went down for Scola off the pick and pop, getting him to 24 points and giving Houston a 9-point lead thanks to the final four points of the quarter. L.A. unwisely didn’t take two open shots that would have given them a 2-for-1, and had to settle for a heaved three from Farmar that had no chance. Still, the visitors shaved nine points off the halftime lead.

Fourth Quarter
10:32 A personal foul (reaching in) and missed jumper got Vujacic on the bench immediately in favor of Shannon Brown, who joined Farmar, Walton, Odom and Gasol on the floor. Odom followed a Gasol miss with a two-handed dunk to make it 7-point game.

8:48 A tad surprising that Kobe stayed on the bench after a timeout, but Artest took a terrible jumper to give L.A. the ball back still down seven. Artest is 5-of-14 on the evening, and disturbingly for Houston, he’s not using his size advantage to get on the block, instead settling for J’s.

7:33 What do I know? Artest responded with a top-of-the-key three. Eh, on second thought, he’s still hurting Houston with all the perimeter action.

6:56 Big momentum play for Landry, who threw in a hammer dunk in the lane plus the harm to put Houston up 81-71 (missed the FT). Meanwhile, Bryant was back in for L.A., set to make a final push for the purple and gold.

4:56 A kicked ball wasn’t called on Houston, giving Farmar a turnover and the Rockets possession up nine.

3:39 Big shot from Brooks, a pull up in the lane, which preceded a big play: Battier clearly hit Bryant’s wrist on a three, but no call was given. That set the score at 86-75 as time began to run out on L.A.’s comeback attempt.

2:12 A hard to understand foul on Odom preceded a Bryant hoop (31 points), but L.O. fouled out trying to block Brooks at the other end and the game was officially over (14-point lead).

0:00 Want some good news, Lakers fans? Game 7 is in STAPLES.

Read about the Lakers vs. Rockets game as it unfolds. As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Game 1
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 4, 2009
Lakers 92, Rockets 100: Postgame

Game 2
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 6, 2009
Lakers 111, Rockets 98: Postgame

Game 3
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 8, 2009
Lakers 108, Rockets 94: Postgame

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison, Sun Yue
Rockets: Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutombo, Yao Ming

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Odom, Gasol
Rockets: Brooks, Battier, Artest, Scola, Hayes

First Quarter
12:00 As both teams continued to warm up, Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutumbo strode out of the locker room to a very nice ovation from the home fans. It’s certainly a shame to see over 14 feet of men in suits and ties, useless to their team on the court. Perhaps more of a shame is that Yao, so often a victim to lower leg injuries due in large part to his 7-6 frame, will have to deal with another offseason replete with question marks regarding his durability after he was perhaps two games away from making it through a fully healthy season.

11:45 Exactly the kind of play that should let the Lakers know Houston means business came immediately: Scola stepped out hard to contest a pass to Ariza, who fumbled it away to Artest for a fastbreak layup. Houston already had more FB points than in Game 3.

9:30 Houston was very active and aggressive on defense, forcing L.A. into four contested jumpers, all of which missed. Meanwhile, Battier hit a jumper and a three to give Houston a 7-0 lead.

8:31 Bryant crossed over Battier and pulled up for L.A.’s first points, which took 3:30 to get, before pulling up again in the lane for four straight points. Battier, however, responded with another triple, and it was 12-4.

6:16 Battier, who’d made just 3-of-12 threes (25 percent), nailed his third of the quarter to put Houston up 17-4. Ariza followed with his third turnover of the quarter, halfway to L.A.’s Game 3 turnover total by himself.

3:30 Houston can’t miss, getting four straight long jumpers from Brooks (2), Artest and Scola to go up 26-9. There’s a very clear element of “You’d better respect us, it’s not just Yao” from the Rockets.

2:32 With Dick Bavetta in the house, you knew the whistles weren’t going to be blown too often, and Houston was taking full advantage by pushing the Lakers all over the place. Bryant grew frustrated enough to draw a technical that would put Houston up by 15.

2:03 That’s something L.A. should milk like a cow: Gasol isolated on Scola. Easy bucket.

0:00 Bryant missed a buzzer-beating shot that allowed Houston to take a 29-16 lead into the second quarter. Two things explained Houston’s dominance: 1) More active defense; 2) More open looks on offense. It’ll be tough for the Rockets to keep up that high pace, but clearly the Lakers have to change their approach to the game.
Continue reading ‘Lakers - Rockets Running Diary 4′

Read about the Lakers vs. Rockets game as it unfolds. As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Game 1
Lakers - Rockets Running Diary, May 4, 2009
Lakers 92, Rockets 100: Postgame

Inactives
Lakers: Adam Morrison*, Sun Yue
Rockets: Joey Dorsey, Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutombo
*Luke Walton’s active for the first time since Game 4 of the Utah series when he injured his left ankle.

Losing A Good Thing?
For whatever reason, the 2008-09 Lakers have at times needed a reason to bring their best effort, like: Proving that they can beat Boston; proving that they can beat Boston IN Boston; becoming the first team to beat Cleveland at home; or beating the Spurs and Rockets on the road after a few losses. For whatever reason, Game 1 against the Rockets didn’t seem to bring the sense of urgency that L.A. can often win without … And it cost them. Yet, perhaps the anger/annoyance that resulted from Monday’s loss is the best thing that could have happened to the Lakers … If the team had managed a fourth quarter comeback after a sluggish first three periods, would they have really learned a lesson, or would Phil Jackson’s squad have once again figured it could always get by in the end? We’ll see momentarily exactly how the purple and gold were affected.

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Odom*, Gasol
Rockets: Brooks, Battier, Artest, Scola, Yao
*Odom replaces Andrew Bynum among L.A.’s starters, which we wrote about HERE.

First Quarter
12:00 The man in the center of L.A.’s pregame huddle, Lamar Odom, walked a good seven city blocks from his downtown place to the arena tonight. In related news, it was hot out today. Good thing Odom’s is a physical freak, and doesn’t seem to get tired. The bottom line with him starting is he’s simply playing better basketball than Andrew Bynum, in addition to the points we linked to before.

11:44 Is Fisher hitting a perimeter jumper a harbinger for the evening? Only 47:16 remaining to find out. Another good sign? The best play-by-play/analyst combo in the business is back in the house: TNT’s Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins. Fortunately, I remembered my headphones so I can listen to the call on the press row monitors.

10:00 Gasol watched Bryant nail a jumper a possession earlier, ran down the court and swatted Brooks in the lane, then hit a turnaround jumper on Yao. Next came another jumper from Bryant, and L.A. was 4-for-4. Next into the action was Ariza, with a powerful flush in Scola’s face to put L.A. up 10-6 as the purple and gold remained perfect from the field.

7:08 Lakers on fire. Entirely fluid, entirely silky on offense, with a Gasol dunk from Odom and a step-back J from Kobe to put L.A. up 16-8 on the heels of some active pressure defense. “A much different team than we saw in Game 1,” said Doug Collins, TNT’s analyst.

6:38 Artest, who hit quite a few end-of-shot clock shots in Game 1, hit another, from three, but Bryant immediately answered at the other end to get to 10 points (on pace for 80).

5:08 As I watched Pau Gasol streak ahead of the pack, catch and flush an alley-oop from Odom, Ty pointed out that Yao was dragging several feet behind the entire fastbreak off a turnover (Ming played 40 minutes on Monday). Though Scola hit a jumper, Ariza and Bryant nailed back-to-back triples that put L.A. up 29-16.

Flame Throwing Early: That was 29 points in eight minutes for L.A. on 86 percent shooting (13-of-15). Good post on Ty’s twitter from a fan: “Shane Battier better stop, drop and roll.” Clearly his hand in the face defense wasn’t doing much to Kobe, who had 13 points. Meanwhile, Harlan and Collins dominating the call.

2:42 Gasol spent the last two days talking about how aggressive he’d be against Yao, and he’s sure proven it in the first quarter. First came a beautiful spin move in the lane that finished with a big slam, then another spin move off the baseline that drew Yao’s second foul and gave Gasol 11 points to just two for Yao. Lakers by 15, as Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar checked in off the bench.

1:21 As soon as Yao sat down, Houston reeled off a 7-0 run that Gasol stopped with a tip in to join Bryant with 13 points. Interestingly, it was Josh Powell and not Bynum that came in for Gasol (Houston was really small with Scola and Landry at the four and five). Alas, two Walton free throws and Kobe’s seventh make in 11 attempts (15 points) put L.A. up 39-25.

In short, the Lakers controlled the pace, got a lot of good looks out of their offense, and nailed 72.7 percent of their attempts (16-of-22). Houston shot well also (10-of-18, 55 percent), but it didn’t matter. The Lakers handled the glass (10-3), and to me the biggest difference was Gasol’s aggressive nature, which produced a 5-of-5, three rebound, 13-point effort that was crucial.

Continue reading ‘Lakers - Rockets Running Diary 2′