After a disappointing home loss on Tuesday to the Houston Rockets, the Lakers welcomed back Pau Gasol and took on their bitter rivals the Boston Celtics. New additions Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks were in uniform for their first game for the purple and gold.
The Lakers were looking to snap a franchise worst eight game home losing streak.
First Quarter:
Pau Gasol made an immediate impact, going strong to the basket and drew a foul. Gasol made one of two to get the scoring started. Marshall hit a three and then added an assist to a streaking Meeks off a Gasol block. Jeff Green came out with the hot hand and scored the first 11 points for the Celtics. Newly acquired guard Kent Bazemore made his debut at the four minute mark. The Lakers fell behind early as turnovers plagued the team once again. MarShon Brooks made his Laker debut at the 2:30 mark. The team struggled once again on the offensive end as they managed only 19 points in the quarter and ended the quarter down 28-19.
Second Quarter:
Bazemore came out strong in the second quarter and attacked the basket converting a layup and then getting to line on the very next possession. The second unit was able to come in and fight back and drew the team within two points with under 10 minutes to go. The Celtics, however, were able to go on a run and pushed their lead back to eight points. Consecutive buckets from Bazemore and Brooks helped the team crawl back within four points. The Lakers continued with their turnover problem in the second quarter, giving up 10 in the first half. The Lakers battled back to end the half and ended the half down just two points, 46-44.
Third Quarter:
The Lakers continued to trail behind the Celtics for a majority of the third quarter. Jodie Meeks started off the quarter with a beautiful three, but the Lakers also turned the ball over early on, preventing them from closing in on the Celtics. Half way through the quarter, the Celtics slowly but surely begin to increase their lead as the Lakers had more turnovers and less baskets. As the quarter came to a close, the Celtics led by as much as 13 points as the Lakers offense began to crumble. Top scorers by the end of the quarter were Meeks and Gasol with 16 points each. Marshall also contributed offensively finishing the quarter with eight assists, but this was not be enough to push the Lakers ahead. Celtics maintained the lead at the end of the third with the score being 74-63.
Fourth Quarter:
MarShon Brook came out hot in the fourth quarter hitting the first three shots for the Lakers. Following a Farmar corner three Brooks scored a slam-dunk after a steal to tie the game at 76. The Lakers took their first lead after Brooks hit a floater off the glass. The Lakers continued to play well and built their lead to 7 points with four minutes left after a three pointer from Kent Bazemore. With great energy on both ends, Chris Kaman sealed the game as they established a 99-89 lead. With 63 points from the bench, the Lakers swept the season series as they defeated Boston, 101-92.
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