THIRD QUARTER
Three straight baskets give the Lakers the lead to start the half. They weren’t exactly hard to come by either.
The two-time MVP answers right back with a triple. I’m writing like Kevin Harlan is talking and that disturbs me. Fatigue is setting in.
Odom gets another lay-up. That’s four straight to start the half.
Is Doug Collins secretly working as Leondro Barbosa’s agent? To say he loves him would be quite an understatement. Barbosa and Bell hit back-to-back threes to give Phoenix the lead again.
Andrew Bynum is fired up. He’s fist pumping left and right. He’s having a very solid game with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Odom and Nash trade horrendous passes, and then Odom goes coast-to-coast for another three-point play. Great start to the year for Odom. Suns lead by one.
Steve Nash gets an uncontested floater. How does he always end up wide open? I guess teams fear the pass first with him.
Bynum dominates Amare in the post for a lay-up, and then following a turnover, Odom goes behind the back to Evans to ignite the crowd.
Odom then brings the crowd to their feet with a three. Suddenly, the Lakers are up six and I get an IM from my friend who loves the Suns that reads “this is so unlike the Suns!” He's kidding. My championship pick is NOT looking great right now.
It’s a 53-32 run for the Lakers since the end of the first quarter. Doug Collins just said “discombobulated.” This isn’t going well for Phoenix.
Andrew Bynum is absolutely dominating right now in the post. He gives the Lakers an eight-point lead with a nice hustle play. He has 16 points and 9 rebounds, and there is no question he’ll be the story in L.A. if the Lakers win this. Meanwhile, in the desert, the concern about Amare’s knee isn’t being alleviated.
Jordan Farmar gets his first NBA points to give the Lakers an 83-73 lead. Following a Marcus Banks bucket, Farmar goes right back to the basket for another lay-up. That really shouldn’t happen.
After a Radmanovic miss, Mo Evans gets another offensive rebound and basket. Evans, Bynum and Odom are giving the Lakers a ton of energy tonight.
The Lakers have a 24-2 advantage in the paint in the third quarter. Yikes.
It’s an 87-79 game in favor of Los Angeles after three. Who saw that coming?
FOURTH QUARTER
Farmar gets yet another lay-up to begin the fourth quarter. Can TNT find a shot of the Clippers licking their chops?
Radmanovic hits a jumper, which is a wonderful sign for Lakers fans. They follow that basket with a great trap to create a turnover. It leads to nothing, but it was a nice play.
The Lakers simply have no fear going to the basket. Odom gets another lay-up, and hits his free throw to give the Lakers a 94-81 lead. Meanwhile, Nash gets more real-time rest.
Remember kids; my Finals pick is Phoenix vs. Miami. I feel great right now. Ugh.
L.A. can’t miss. It’s 101-85. They’ve made six straight field goals to start the quarter. They looked like they were going to be blown out of the building in the first quarter. You have to love the NBA.
All right, I take back what I wrote earlier. Odom will be the story in Los Angeles. He’s working on 29 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
There’s still a ton of time left here. Almost eight minutes of game time, which I believe translates into 22 minutes of real time.
Barbosa hits a big three and, surprisingly, Doug Collins sings his praises. Good grief. The lead is now 102-91. Look out!
Marion hits another easy basket to cut the lead to nine as the Lakers start to turn the ball over.
Smush Parker nails an open three as the Lakers take advantage of a double team in the post.
Mo Evans strokes a beautiful 19-footer, then on the other end, Shawn Marion misses by a mile on a long-range attempt. The Staples Center is on their feet. Seriously, who expected this from the Lakers tonight? I don’t even know what to make of this. L.A. leads 107-95.
Barbosa hits another three. Guess who said he’s the only player who can make a shot for Phoenix? He also said nine points is a three possession game “when you play the Suns.” Uh, Doug, it’s three possessions when you play anyone.
Odom buries a huge triple to give the Lakers a 10-point lead, but Barbosa answers right back.
Andrew Bynum drains a fall-away 15-footer to put the Lakers up by nine. Has he arrived or is this a one-night mirage? We’ll find out tomorrow. He’s been amazing in this one with 18 points, 9 boards and 5 assists. Odom is up to 32/13/6. Mo Evans has 17 points. Who needs Kobe?
It’s all over. 114-106 is your final. Odom finishes with 34. Barbosa has 30 in a losing effort, so at least Doug Collins was right.
What a HUGE win for the Lakers. What a bizarre opening night. This is going to be some season if tonight is any indication.
Thanks for reading.
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3 comments:
The Lakers rocked! Is it possible that Kobe learned anything from watching? Share the ball Kobe. Your teammates can play!
I went to sleep last night with a little regret for my Odom-bashing post a couple months ago. He dominated last night, and lil' baby Bynum looks all grown up now, at least for one night.
Maybe I should start dissing on players I like, in hopes that they do well? This could pay huge dividends. Anyone out there you want me to talk some smack about so they make the All-Star game?
Nice work on the live blogging! Looking forward to more...
Well said, Honey. I am sorry it took me so much real time to read this. I wondered how you were going to write repeatedly and at length about a game where a bunch of tall guys run back and forth across a wooden floor with a new-fangled orange bouncy thing and still keep it interesting. And yet, you did. I was imaginging something like: "The tallest guy with a billion tattos just got the ball from the guy in purple with the shortest hair, and he runs to the other end of the court and shoots and scores. Now the short guy passes to the son of the announcer guy, and he shoots and misses". The fact that you found a zillion different ways to describe pass, run, shot/miss increases my already abundant admiration for you. You make reading about the game a HELL of a lot more interesting than watching it.
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