Champs Climbing

My lack of blogging can be attributed to entering the most boring period in professional sports. There really isn’t much going on outside the hardwood and NHL. Pitchers and catchers report on Monday, but until baseball season officially opens, the next few weeks are going to be tough save for the tremendousness that is March Madness. The LA Lakers’ treachery is starting to show. Los Angeles collected wins in Boston and New York this week, establishing the World Champs as “back”. LA has won the first four games of a seven game road trip. The defenseless New York Knicks were beaten at home last night 113-96 in Phil Jackson’s last appearance at the Garden. LA’s head coach announced he is retiring after the season. Kobe Bryant put up 33 points against the Knicks, who seem to have gradually fallen off the playoff radar. The Knicks slipped to 26-26, twelve games behind Atlantic-leading Boston. The Lakers, meanwhile, improved to 38-16. That’s good for a ten and a half game edge in the Pacific division.
Bryant drained 19 of Los Angeles’ 30 first quarter points but the Knicks scored 28 to make it a two point contest after the opening stanza. The Knicks looked mediocre in trying to keep pace with LA. Bryant knocked down 3-of-4 3-point attempts in the first quarter and exploded on nearly every opportunity he was afforded. Amar’e Stoudemire shined for Mike D’Antoni’s team. Stoudemire finished with a double-double and made 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Raymond Felton was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for New York during the first quarter. Felton scored 20 points in the loss, while Stoudemire bested him by four. The Knicks’ Danilo Gallinari missed 11 of 15 shots but finished in double figures. His rookie teammate made just six shots. LA’s strong defense was too much for the flailing, fumbling Knicks.
Pau Gasol tallied 20 points in 32 minutes for the visiting Lakers. Andrum Bynum added 12 points and nine rebounds. LA’s bench stepped up to give them a 62-48 halftime advantage. Shannon Brown went 6-of-10 from the field with 12 points as reserve guard. Brown’s aerobatic dunk highlighted a second quarter spurt for LA. The Knicks played sloppy basketball and Stoudemire was called for a technical foul in the third quarter. For the All-Star Stoudemire, it was his 14th technical, two shy of a one game suspension. The Lakers were able to breeze down the stretch with a comfortable lead as New York never threatened. Bryant’s jumper early in the third quarter gave the Lakers an 18 point edge. Phil Jackson’s team extended their lead with Bryant on the bench. The Lakers held the lead for the game’s final 35 minutes, eventually ballooning to 22 at one point in the final stanza.

Parting Points: Song for Saturday- “Follow You Follow Me” by Genesis

The Cavs finally won a game---over the fruitless Clippers.