Posts tagged Big

Fresh off their double-overtime marathon on Thursday in San Antonio, the Lakers had little left in the tank for their Friday night battle in New Orleans, and suffered their first loss of the season, 114-95.

The Lakers were a visibly tired basketball team the whole night. They found themselves down seven after one quarter, and 17 by the end of the third quarter. The Hornets were red hot all night, shooting a fantastic 57% from the field, and 52% (12-of-23) from beyond the arc as they moved to 5-1 on the season.

Kobe Bryant struggled all night. He managed to hit only 4-of-14 shots, scoring just 11 points in 37 minutes. Shaquille O’Neal was the team’s high-scorer, tallying 21 points, and six rebounds.

The Lakers’ “Fantastic Four” never could get their games in synch. Karl Malone played only 28 minutes, took only seven shots, and scored just 10 points. Gary Payton had similar struggles, scoring only seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. He did hand out a team-high 11 assists however.

For the game, the Lakers shot only 46% from the field and a miserable 30% (6-for-20) from the 3-point line. They were also out-rebounded 36 to 32.

The Hornets were led by Baron Davis, who had a stellar night, scoring 23 points, and dishing out 12 assists. He also hit 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

The Lakers will welcome two days off, as they prepare for their final game on this road trip, Monday night in Memphis against Jerry West‘s Grizzlies.

Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap