January 5, 2010
NBA- Lakers’ Hot Scoring Annihilated the Mavericks
By Ally White
The Los Angeles Lakers recovered their game last Sunday night, resoundingly defeating the Dallas Mavericks with a score of 131-96. Despite the incredible performance, however, the Lakers suffered from the loss of their Spanish center, Pau Gasol, in the first seven minutes of the game due to a strained hamstring in his left leg.
With this triumph, the Lakers take the best record of the league with 27 victories and only 6 losses. Moreover, the team enjoyed its greatest margin of victory in the history of their series against Dallas, improving on the 33-point advantage during a game on December 1st, 1993.
Both teams entered the first quarter focused on attaining the lead, but after just five minutes, the Lakers had a 22-8 run that gave them the lead, 30-13. In the same quarter, Gasol, feeling a twinge in his left hamstring, retired from the game after adding 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist.
With Gasol out, Andrew Bynum, the Spaniard’s replacement, had to expand his game. Both Bynum and the bench gave stellar performances. In the second quarter, Jordan Farmar connected 2 three-pointers in the first minutes while Bynum added another 6 points.
Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard contributed for the Mavericks, who were struggling in their shooting. At the end of the quarter, the Lakers enjoyed the lead, 64-39.
After halftime, the Lakers’ shooting became unstoppable, and Dallas seemed left on the sidelines. LA scored 20 points in three minutes to the Mavericks’ measly 6 points. By the end of the third quarter, LA was winning by 40 points, 103-63.
The fourth quarter had a similar tempo, and the contribution from the Lakers’ bench grew even stronger. Dallas tried to cut the score with 2 three-pointers from Rodrigue Beaubois in the first two minutes, but Farmar and Odom responded with 2-three pointers as well. Dallas kept fighting, but LA was able to respond quickly with great shooting.
The Lakers finally took the victory, 131-96.
After the game, L.A coach Phil Jackson stated he was really pleased with the performance of Jordan Farmar, who led the Lakers in the game with 24 points. Jackson also said he is concerned with Gasol’s injury and hoped it was minor – Pau is a key player for the Lakers, and his absence at the beginning of the season, due to a damaged right hamstring, proved difficult.
"Any time Pau has an injury, we're very concerned. We thought that the initial one in the preseason was very slight because . . . there was no significant impression that he'd have a pull. So obviously it's something that we have to take seriously," said Jackson.
On the other hand, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said he was disappointed, feeling his team didn’t put in the effort needed to attain the victory, which was unusual on his team.
“Just an embarrassing effort. We all own it, so I don't know how else to put it. They played great and we played terrible. You know, it was atypical of the year we've had so far, but it's very disappointing. It's the first time all year we really didn't put up the kind of fight we really needed to. It's on all of us, coaches, players, everybody. It's very disappointing," said Coach Carlisle.
The best scorers for the L.A Lakers were Jordan Farmar with 24 points; Andrew Bynum with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; Kobe Bryant with 15 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds; Lamar Odom with 15 points and 15 rebounds; Shannon Brown with 11 points and 5 assists; Sacha Vujacic with 11 points and 5 rebounds, and finally Derek Fisher with 10 points. For the Dallas Mavericks the best scorers were Dirk Nowitzki with 22 points and 8 rebounds; Tim Thomas with 12 points; Jason Terry with 10 points, and ultimately Jose Barea with 10 points and 3 assists.
About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copy writer on NBA games and sports action for the online sports betting site: http://www.instantactionsports.com
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