Tuesday night at the Staples Center the Los Angeles Lakers had a large advantage in size and strength for the New York Knicks. Scoring 17 points in the third quarter, the Lakers gained a 25-point lead allowing them another victory and the Knicks left in the dust.
“We like to use our height to our advantage,” Bynum said. “It doesn’t do any good if you don’t have the right game plan and the right fundamentals, but we had that for the most part, too.”
“The Knicks are in a recession”, quoted Kobe. With this loss their record now stands at 3-11. The Lakers defense was able to dominate the Knicks and hold them under 40% from the floor. With the Knicks struggling from the outside, and nailing 11 for 33 on 3-point attempts it was easy for Kobe and the team to dominate the game.
Kobe was the leader once again with scoring 34 points, five rebounds and four assists. In only his third game back Pau Gasol had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Other Lakers contributing to this victory were Ron Artest with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Derek Fisher with 12 points, 6 boards and 4 assists.
“It was a game we won,” Jackson said. “It was one of those games that got plodding in the last six, eight minutes of the ballgame. So it doesn’t leave you with a great feeling when you walk out. You know you won the game, but it’s not like a game where you felt that was well played and we all did well.”
