The Lakers were hosting the San Antonio Spurs tonight in a battle between the two best teams in the Western Conference. The Lakers entered the game with a record of 34-15 while the Spurs were 40-8.
After all the controversy surrounding the Lakers over the past week with trade rumors and such, the Lakers were looking to prove they can beat an elite member of the NBA hierarchy.
First Quarter
The first quarter opened with both the Spurs and the Lakers looking rather sloppy. The Lakers offense looked stagnant and they turned the ball over multiple times. One of the positives for Los Angeles was the movement of Andrew Bynum, who was back in the starting line-up after missing Tuesday night’s game with a bone bruise on his right knee.
Bynum looked very active during his first stretch on the court, and had four points and a rebound before taking a seat. The Spurs maintained a lead for much of the quarter in large part due to Richard Jefferson. The Spurs guard scored 10 points in the quarter alone, and led San Antonio to a 22-18 lead over the Lakers at the end of the first.
Second Quarter
With the reserves in to start the second quarter the Lakers were looking to take the lead that San Antonio held for the first twelve minutes. However, ill-timed jump shots and lack of offensive rotation helped prevent the Lakers from gaining real rhythm.
While the Lakers continued to struggle on offense, the Spurs continued to roll on offense. Los Angeles showed flashes of good defense, but also had multiple instances where San Antonio was able to capitalize on Laker mistakes. There were several instances where San Antonio missed open lay-ups that could have increased the Spurs lead to double digits.
At the end of the first half the Lakers and the Spurs were tied at 42, as San Antonio ended the half on a 9-2 run.
Next: Second Half
