March 25, 2009

A Welcome, Easy Win

For once, LO and the Lake Show didn't have to cringe through a nail biter.

Instead, after building up a 17-point first quarter lead, the starters were able to take the entire fourth quarter off while maintaining their sizable lead, which the Purple and Gold claimed from wire-to-wire.

TAKING THE LEAD
No. 7 was a crucial part of building that initial first quarter advantage. As the LA Times reported:

“The Lakers came charging out of the gate, piling up an 11 point lead by the six minute mark of the first quarter, Lamar Odom leading the way with nine points on an economical five shots. By the end of the opening 12, the Lakers were leading 37-20 and well on their way.”

LO snags a rebound Tuesday night against Oklahoma City (Getty Images).

LAUGH IT UP
Despite fouling out 15 seconds into the fourth quarter (amid friendly giggles from his teammates), LO produced another solid scoring effort. The Package scored 18 points on the night, and pulled down six boards. Though Lamar was frustrated about his abrupt exit from the floor in the fourth, he was able to find humor in the situation.

“Odom, who had re-entered the game 15 seconds earlier, angrily protested the call while walking to the bench as Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza tried unsuccessfully to hide their amusement. Eventually, Odom grinned as he put on his warmups. The Lakers, after all, led by 19 at the time.”

NEXT UP
So far, the P&G are 2-0 on their seven-game road trip. Game 3 comes tomorrow night against the Detroit Pistons, who are hurting for a win after having lost five of their last six. Tune in to KCAL 9 at 4:30 p.m. PST to see if the Lakers can take advantage of the slumping Pistons to record their fourth straight win.

RELATED STORIES
Lakers go wire to wire (LATimes.com, March 25, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-thunder...
Lakers 107, Thunder 89 (LATimes.com, March 24, 2009)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/03/lakers-107-thun.html