Lakers lead, 58-56, at halftime

April 20th, 2008, 1:42 pm · Post a Comment · posted by JANIS CARR, OCREGISTER.COM

Andrew Bynum wasn’t in the game, still sidelined by a knee problem. But where was Kobe? He was there, but not much in the box score.

Bryant was 1 for 9 with one assist through the first 19 minutes, 43 seconds of the game, and he didn’t score his second basket with 4:17 left in the second quarter.

And don’t think for one the Nuggets didn’t take advantage of Bryant’s lack of offensive presence. With Bryant seemingly invisible, the Lakers lost their comfort level and the Nuggets climbed out of their 10-point hole and ran out to an eight-point lead in the second quarter.

Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, though, stepped up and got the Lakers moving again and they led, 58-56, at halftime.

The Nuggets attempted a game-tying shot at the buzzer, but Sasha Vujacic blocked Linas Klieza’s shot from the corner. Gasol had 18 points, while Walton scored 12 in the first half. They were the only Lakers in double figures. The Nuggets had four in double figures, led by Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, who each had 14 points.

BTW:
Bryant had four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and still only one assist in the first half.

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