Indiana Leaves L.A. with a Win
The Pacers began a three-game California road trip with a loss against the Kings in Sacramento. Indiana finished strong, with back-to-back wins over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, and against the Lakers at the Staples Center. The Lakers had lost two games in row before meeting up with Indiana Sunday night, but were looking for their tenth straight win at home.
L.A. jumped out to an early 13 point cushion, but the Pacers cut that down to a one possession lead by halftime. Kobe Bryant, the league’s scoring leader, led the game with 33 points. Bryant scored 17 points in the first two quarters, and also caught Roy Hibbert with an elbow to the face early in the game during a baseline drive to the basket. Bryant’s drive on Hibbert drew a foul, and the accidental elbow broke big Roy’s nose. Hibbert went to the locker room, but returned to the court soon after. Indiana’s starting center ended up leading the team in scoring, putting up eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers had 10 steals and only eight turnovers on the night, but left important points on the foul line, shooting 22-33 free throws. Indiana turned the ball over 17 times, but shot a solid 16-19 free throws. Pacers point guard Darren Collison hit two key foul shots late in the game, giving Indiana a 97-94 lead, before Bryant missed a challenged deep shot in the games’ final seconds.
The Lakers will try to break their losing streak Wednesday against the Clippers at Staples Center, in what will be considered a home game. They will then go on the road for six away games in a row. The Pacers go back to Indiana for one home game against Orlando before hitting the road again for three more away games at Chicago, Boston, and Orlando.
Magic center Dwight Howard is having an MVP-caliber season. In two consecutive games last week, Howard scored 21 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. The last player to rack up those numbers twice in a row was Kevin Willis, in 1991, for the Atlanta Hawks.
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