Nets 102, Lakers 100
November 25th, 2007, 10:22 pm · 2 Comments · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM
LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant made it exciting, but he didn’t make what was ultimately the biggest shot.
Bryant (31 points) got three foul shots after neatly drawing a foul on Jason Kidd with 6.1 seconds left and New Jersey ahead, 101-98. But after making all 15 of his foul shots on the night, Bryant missed his last try of the three-shot set – leaving the Lakers down by a point.
The Lakers had one more chance after a Bostjan Nachbar missed foul shot left the Nets’ lead at 102-100 with 3.3 seconds left. With Bryant double-teamed, Vladimir Radmanovic missed a three-pointer at the buzzer – his 10th miss in 10 shots for the game.
The Lakers faced a 91-79 deficit before rallying in the last half of the fourth quarter. Bryant started one of his trademark late-game onslaughts, nailing consecutive three-pointers over Kidd to cut New Jersey’s lead to 94-93 – then passing to Sasha Vujacic for another three-pointer to give the Lakers the lead.
But the Lakers’ defense couldn’t the lead. Then with New Jersey ahead, 99-98, after two Nachbar free throws with 28.4 seconds left, Bryant missed a drifting jumper from one of his favorite right-wing spots on the floor.
The Lakers had lost a seven-point lead late in the third quarter to go into the fourth at 72-72. Then the Lakers’ second unit that has fared so well, especially at home, this season let down badly to start the fourth quarter. The Nets had seized an 84-74 lead against Andrew Bynum, Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Vujacic and Jordan Farmar before Bryant and Lamar Odom (16 points) came back in.
THANKS, VINCE
Trevor Ariza scored on his first Lakers shot when he got an open bank shot upon New Jersey’s Vince Carter flopping but not drawing an offensive foul.
FAN SUPPORT
A pack of fans at Staples Center came wearing gold T-shirts with “BYNUM BRIGADE” on them, with Bynum’s face on the front.
“SPACE CADET”
Radmanovic, dubbed the “Space Cadet” last season by Lakers coach Phil Jackson, drew a technical foul in the first quarter for throwing the ball against the basket support – a fundamental no-no – and later was called for traveling by one referee and a three-second violation by another referee on the same play.
NEXT
Seattle at Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, FSN, KLAC/570
November 26th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
That was as sickening and imbittering a loss as I have seen in recent memory. At the risk of making bad conjectures, I am going to say that this Lakers team is not going to amount to much anytime soon. Just like the last two seasons, they take a step forward, get over-hyped and then take two steps back. They will probably fight their way to another 7th or 8th seed and a first round playoff exit.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Somethings never change. The Lakers lost to the Nets last night because they missed 13 attempts from the charity stripe. Phil Jackson sat on his hands while the Lakers gave up the lead and fell behind by 12. Radmonovitch turned the ball over 3 or 4 consecutive trips down the floor. Kobe took the second and third quarters off after missing 13 of 16 and then had the nerve to walk off the court with his palms up as if to say what am I supposed to do. Jackson said before the game the Lakers traded up for Ariza. You could have fooled me. I think Evans or Cooke could have produced 2 points and one rebound in seven minutes. Wait and see. Evans and Cooke are going to take off now that they are out from under Phil.