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LAst Night's Action: Lakers Swat Hornets To Take Series Lead
LA Lakers defeat New Orleans Hornets 106-90. After a first quarter where the Hornets got anything they wanted and led by nine, it seemed unlikely the Lakers would get the win much less give the fans their tacos. But it was the bench that sparked the comeback early in the second quarter coupled with Hornets errors that gave them the win.
True Kobe Bryant got the crowd riled up with his statement thunderous dunk in the second quarter telling the world his ankle wasn’t going to bother him. But the bench in the first two-and-a-half minutes cut the lead to one forcing the Hornets into a timeout.
While Kobe did manage 19 points, 12 in that second quarter, Matt Barnes and Steve Blake both notched a +14 rating with Lamar Odom pulling a +13.
Meanwhile the Hornets uncharacteristically committed 17 turnovers which hurt against an offensive juggernaut like the Lakers. A 15-3 offensive rebound disparity didn’t help either. 42-30 points in the paint either. 22-2 second chance points.
And that ankle of Kobe wasn’t really a factor in the game, after all Kobe only played 29 minutes.
The Lakers now head to New Orleans for Game 6 on Thursday looking to eliminate the pesky Hornets.
Florida Marlins defeat LA Dodgers 4-2. Andre Ethier extended his hit streak to an MLB April best 23 games with an RBI double in the first inning.
W: Chris Volstad, 2-1 - 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
L: Clayton Kershaw, 2-3 - 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.
S: Leo Nunez, 7.
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LA Angels defeat Oakland Athletics 8-3.
W: Tyler Chatwood, 2-1 - 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K.
L: Brandon McCarthy, 1-2 - 5 1/3 IP, 14 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 2 WP.
NOTABLE NOTES
LA Dodgers at Florida Marlins. 9:10 a.m. FS Prime Ticket, AM 790 KABC.
Oakland Athletics at LA Angels. 4:05 p.m. FSWest, AM 830 KLAA.
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