Luminous Lakers’ Late Lightning

Kobe Bryant tapped into all his on court resources last night in Madison Square Garden. The Lakers All-Star fell short of his mega record setting performance of 61 points from the last time he made the trip to the New York arena. Friday night, Bryant used his friends to feast on the Knicks, fueling LA to a ten point road victory. Number 24 still led the Lakers with 27 points and six assists. The Garden gamer bucketed 13 points in the final quarter. LA topped the Knicks 110-105 a night after being bullied by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The spirited Lakers handed the Knicks their 25th loss by surmounting a fourth quarter deficit. LA received a much improved game from Pau Gasol, who scored half of his 20 points the final quarter. Gasol recovered down eight rebounds but continued to have trouble from the free throw line. Andrew Bynum contributed 19 points and showed smoother rhythm in the first half. He recorded only two points in the second half, but Bryant and Gasol paved the way for another LA win. The two combined to outscore the Knicks 23-20 in the fourth quarter as the luminous Lakers flashed and fancied their late lightning.
Bryant took over when the game mattered. His fourth quarter magic sparked the Lakers as LA outscored New York 31-20 in the quarter. The NBA’s elite shooter was playing with a broken index finger, but managed to overcome the pain. He scoffed at the notion of taking time off to nurse his finger. Bryant made just 8 of 24 shots but knocked down a pair of free throws with four minutes left in the game. The Lakers beat the Knicks for the sixth straight time. New York played aggressive basketball, but was just too small to handle the Lakers’ big men. David Lee scored a season high 31 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the loss. The All-Star candidate had a respectable game guarding Bynum and besting the Lakers big men off the dribble. New York’s Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari lit up the scoreboard with 28 and 20 points, respectively. Gallinari faded in the second half but Chandler anchored the Knicks’ offense throughout the final three quarters. The Knicks rallied on offense and delivered a diligent defensive effort to draw even after yielding 36 first quarter points. Jordan Farmar, the former UCLA hoopster, gave the Lakers a six point lead with a shot from the arc to end the first quarter. The second quarter saw seven lead changes and nine ties in a fast paced end-to-end scuffle. The score was tied 63-63 at halftime. New York’s Nate Robinson was forced out of the game with a hamstring injury in the second half. Replacement Larry Hughes, blocked and wrestled away a Bryant shot as the third quarter buzzer sounded. New York carried a slim 85-84 edge into the fourth quarter, but the Lakers clung to a two point advantage with seven minutes to go in regulation. Lamar Odom dropped a jumper and Gasol made consecutive field goals to increase LA’s lead to 99-91. Bryant drained a three pointer to push the lead to 11 and the Lakers never looked back as they excused the Knicks. The superfluous surge stood. Ron Artest finished with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the game’s final two minutes. The pitiable Knicks shot only 27% from downtown, but prevented Bryant from making it another record-setting night in New York.

Parting Points: Happy National Handwriting Day! Here’s my tribute to the day:
You hold tightly to the written word
And speak visibly to make it heard
Voices often don’t have the same effect
As the hand communicating to affect