Lakers Pocket Victory Over Nuggets

LOS ANGELES, CA–Kobe Bryant continued his scoring streak Sunday night at STAPLES Center, leading the Lakers to a win over the Denver Nuggets with a dazzling display of athleticism and poise down the stretch.

Leading by as many as 16 points, the Lakers blew their lead and saw it cut to as little as 2 points in the 4th quarter on a layup from Nuggets’ center Nenê with 2:27 remaining in the game. However, Kobe Bryant would score 8 points after that, and his fast-break floater with 1:48 to go sealed the deal for the Lakers in front of 18,997 in attendance.

Bryant poured in 42 points for the Lakers, his third consecutive game with 40 points or more, en route to a 99-91 victory at home. The Laker leader scored 31 of his total in the 2nd half, 17 coming in an explosive 3rd quarter. Aside from being a scoring machine, Bryant also caused problems for the Nuggets while on defense. Kobe would snatch 4 steals in the game, intercepting passes and coming off of weak side help to strip opposing players. He would also pull down 5 boards and dish out 4 assists to add to his total as well. The amazing thing: Bryant did all of this in just 36 minutes of play, as he was limited by foul trouble for much of the game.

Lamar Odom was spectacular for the Lakers as well. He pulled own a season high 15 rebs while adding 12 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks for the Lakers. Odom’s all-around contribution benefitted the Lakers in multiple areas at both ends of the floor. He relentlessly seemed intent on attacking the basket, getting Nuggets’ power forward Kenyon Martin into early foul trouble. He cleared the boards with authority and proved to be the factor that kept the Lakers just about even with their opponent in rebounds.

Laker forward Caron Butler contributed a solid game as well, scoring 13 points and grabbing down 8 rebounds. Butler made the most off of the open looks he received throughout the game and provided just enough scoring assistance to aid Bryant. Butler seems to have stepped up his aggressiveness around the boards as of late, as he is averaging 8 rebounds per game in his last three contests. Laker head coach Rudy Tomjanovich must certainly be pleased with this and hopeful that it will continue.

Lamar Odom Also making an impact in the painted area was center Chris Mihm, who added 10 points and 8 rebounds on the night. Mihm was aggressive from the start, hustling for loose balls and skying high to grab down some valuable rebounds for the Lakers, particularly in the first quarter. Mihm’s low post game added another option for his team at the offensive end. Yet, on the other end, he proved to be just as effective. Although limited by foul trouble once again, Mihm served up 3 blocks, including a possession where he had back to back blocks on the Nuggets’ DerMarr Johnson, bringing the STAPLES crowd to its feet.

Rounding out the starting lineup for the Lakers was point guard Chucky Atkins, who scored 8 points and dished out 4 assists in 37 minutes. Although he was just 2/7 from beyond the arc, Atkins hit a couple of big shots that helped the Lakers maintain leads throughout the game.

Two huge factors off of the Laker bench were Jumaine Jones and Brian Grant. Both players did the dirty work for the Lakers and their hustle paid off immensely. Jones finished with 5 points and 5 rebounds in his 22 minutes on the floor. He also played solid defense on Carmelo Anthony, coming away with 2 steals and with the help of Caron Butler, held the young Denver star to just 7/21 field goals. Grant, on the other hand, did not score a single point, but he pulled down 7 huge rebounds for the Lakers, three of them coming on the offensive end.

The Lakers have now tied the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 6th seed in the Western conference, standing at 16-12, and travel down south to battle the Spurs at SBC Center on Tuesday night. The early tip-off is at 5:45 PM PST and as always, we will have live Gameday coverage on CL.com.

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