<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Hawks' new star couldn't slow Kobe Bryant. The Hawks' old smoking game clock didn't have any better luck, only causing delays that gave Bryant time to rest and point the Los Angeles Lakers' fast-break offense in a winning direction. Bryant scored 37 points, including two drives to spark a 14-2 second-half run, and the Lakers spoiled Atlanta's home opener, beating Joe Johnson and the Hawks 103-97 on Tuesday night. On a night the Philips Arena game clock and shot clock rarely worked, the public address announcer had to call out the scores. Coach Phil Jackson and the Lakers laughed after the game about the often-comical attempts by Hawks' management to keep the game moving. There were several delays and reports of equipment smoking behind press row. Asked if he had ever experienced a similar collapse of technology, a smiling Jackson said "It was probably here in Atlanta, the last time it happened." Some Los Angeles players joked the announcer kept an exaggerated slow count of the shot clock when the Hawks had the ball but raced through the count when the Lakers were on offense. The scene reminded Bryant of summer league games in Philadelphia. "I had no clue what the score was. It just made it a little harder to manage the game a little bit strategically," he said. Bryant topped the 30-point mark for the fourth straight game and had 37 for the second straight game -- right on his NBA-best average of 36.3.</div> Full acticle Box score Good that they got another win, but Mihm and Kwame still isn't producing like they should. Another good game for Parker, and of course Kobe as well. Odom had a good all-around game, but only scored 13 points. Does anyone else have troubles accessing nba.com?
Odom's statline was fine. 13 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 1 blocked shot. Very well rounded game, points arn't everything. Mihm/Brown need to step up, but they got time to mature into the triangle, just a little patience....
First off! I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one having problems with NBA.com, I was about to ask shape about that- it keeps asking me to log into the fan section, and even after I sign in it doesn't let me go anywhere. ANYWAYS yeah Lamar only had 13, but his season average is 17 so it wasn't that off. And he filled every single stat you could ask for...5 steals??? Looks like hiring pippen is paying off. As for Kobe- wow. The way he's doing it (effortlessly) makes me dare to say that it wouldn't out of line to beleive he can keep this up for a while...
Yah, can you belive it, the Lakers are actually doing better than the Heat... I know, I know, it's still early... But still though; its great to see that... I also can't believe how big Shaq got... I hope his weight won't hinder his ankle sprain...
Brown isn't going to step up on offense if he isn't given shots. He has yet to get 7-10 shots in a game, they need to give it to him and see what he can do. Good game by Kobe and Smush. Kobe is tearing things up right now. I love it!
The final score was a lot closer than how the game went. The Lakers dominated the Hawks after halftime and were in control with a 16 point lead for most of the final quarter. The offense looked sharp last night with the ball movement. Chris Mihm managed to go for 20/13 and then disappear on the road once again, playing only 12 minutes. I know Kwame Brown isn't putting up big numbers, but he's doing a lot of dirty work for the Lakers. He's setting some hard picks on offense and freeing up Kobe and Odom. Plus he's a threat to score inside, so teams are less reluctant to double team off him. He's also defending the pick and roll well on defense, and is one of the better players on help defense. The only thing holding Kwame back is foul trouble.
^that was an E-X-P-L-O-S-I-V-E dunk when i saw it. He just blasted from the ground, i guess this is why he worked on his speed and quickness over the summer.
