<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 29 (Ticker) -- Ginobili scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Tim Duncan added 16 and nine as the Spurs held on for a 90-84 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. In a matchup of teams that have combined to win six of the last seven championships, it was the defending champion Spurs who quickly laid their claim as the better team. San Antonio outscored Los Angeles, 29-17, in the first quarter and held on for its sixth straight win in the series. "This is a good win for us," said Ginobili, who made 9-of-14 shots. "They just played better after the first quarter. They got some baskets and started to play more comfortable as the game went on." Lakers coach Phil Jackson saw it somewhat differently. "We got them mired into our level of basketball," he said. "They were playing way above us in that first quarter. We couldn't stay with them so we had them play at our level. We spent too much energy trying to get back into it; we just couldn't finish it." NBA leading scorer Kobe Bryant scored 25 points but made just 9-of-33 shots for the Lakers, who shot 35 percent (33-of-94). Bryant missed all six of his 3-pointers, committed three turnovers and scored just two points in the fourth quarter as he was harassed by Bruce Bowen. "The best thing that happened tonight was the great performance by Bruce Bowen against a great player," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He did a fantastic job against Kobe Bryant." "With this particular ballclub, I have to be aggressive," Bryant said. "Hopefully we can get some rebounds off of missed shots. They did a good job cleaning the boards and we got some second looks tonight. When we do that, the game will get easier for all of us." The Spurs took an 83-73 lead on a three-point play by Duncan with 3:03 to go, but the Lakers fought back on runner by Bryant and a rare four-point play by Sasha Vujacic. Ginobili and Michael Finley each made a pair of free throws to push the lead to 87-79 with 1:15 left. Lamar Odom sliced the deficit to 87-84 with two baskets in the final minute, but Duncan capped the scoring by hitting three free throws. "I'm happy anytime we can get a victory like this tonight," said Bowen, who chipped in 11 points. "Each game is big for us. We are the champions of last year, so everyone is going to get up when they play us. Kobe is the ultimate competitor, so any time that we can hold him in check, we are happy." Odom was the best player for the Lakers, scoring 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. Odom, who has struggled to find his role in Jackson's triangle offense, made 12-of-25 shots while adding 16 rebounds and three assists. "Statistically, I suppose this was my best game if you want to look at it that way," Odom said. "But I think I could have made a few more plays and my points don't matter if we lose. If we are going to win games, it's important for me to finish strong at the basket."</div> Full article Box score At least they weren't blown out. On a positive note, Bynum got over 21 minutes, and Odom scored a bit more. The Lakers need to start winning however if they plan to make the playoffs.
Kobe just needs to step back and play within the flow a little more. In the game against the Nets we felt like if he had not taken all those shots we would have never gone to overtime, but in the other hand he's been shooting us out of a lot of games IMO. In all of our wins he hasn't forced nearly as many shots and therefore shot a better percentage and was able to create for his team more, while also getting to the line more often. When hes forcing it up like he did against the Spurs he's shooting horribly and also isn't setting up his team at all. For example Kobe had 0 assists in the game against the Spurs where he shot 27%... In all my years of watching Kobe I can not remember one time where he didn't have ANY assists in a game.. rediculous. IMO if Kobe continues to play the way he has been we will go straight back to the lottery this year.
Kobe must have been bummed after this game. Not only did they lose, but he was kept under 30 points by the dreaded Bruce Bowen!
VERY good game Lamar Odom. I don't know why some of you guys don't like him, it's just he needs to be a bit more consistent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting lakerman34:</div><div class="quote_post">VERY good game Lamar Odom. I don't know why some of you guys don't like him, it's just he needs to be a bit more consistent.</div> Lamar Odom had a very good game, and the reason why I don't like him is because he only has one of these every 6 or 7 games. He needs to play with this aggression every night for the 35 minutes he's on the court. After the Seattle win, his goal was to put together a string of 4 games scoring 20+ points and being more aggressive. He followed that statement up with a 1-11 night from the floor. Sounds like he really stepped up last night, but until he can produce like that night in and night out then I'm going to continue to bash him. Lamar Odom has more skill than KG or Tim Duncan, but he has lived up to his full potential. It's time for him to start playing like an All Star every game for the Lakers and earning that 11M the team is paying him.
To look on the bright side, the Lakers only lost to the league's best team by 6 and they even had a chance to win it. I had a chance to watch the game, and Bowen didn't really shut Bowen down. Kobe just had a rare bad game. He wasn't making anything, so he couldn't get his game going. Bowen didn't do any better of a job on Kobe than most guys teams throw at him, he just played bad. Just think, they only shot 35% and had a chance to win. This was only their second game I watched, and the only guys who impress me are Kobe and Bynum. Odom played well last night, but he had a few plays on defense that left me shaking my head. Mihm too seems pretty clueless out there. This team could do with an overhaul with the only untouchables being Bynum and Kobe.
I dont think that Bynum is untouchable first of all, You only have one. Kobe has to take those shots IMO, because he's got nobody else on that ragged team. It should piss you guys off that Lamar cares about his record label more than the Lakers. The reason alot of Laker Fans hate him is his inconsistancy, and his lack of aggression against the non-contenders. The Man doesnt realize that you need a certain amount of W's to get to the playoffs, and just playing hard against the elites isnt gonna punch your ticket, He's never been a winner, And if I were you guys a deal should come soon not later.
