Magic protect home court, send Lakers to third straight loss

Monday, 08 March 2010 07:06 PM Adrian Dy

Call it a statement, call it protecting the home court, call it revenge, call it anything you want, a win is a win.

The Los Angeles Lakers (46-18) returned to the Amway Arena where, nine months ago, they were crowned NBA Champions, but instead of another coronation and champagne, they walked away with an "L" and a bitter taste in their mouth, courtesy of the Orlando Magic (44-20), who won 96-94.

Off-season acquisition Vince Carter led the Magic with 25 points, on fifty percent shooting. "Superman" Dwight Howard had 15 points, 16 boards and 2 blocks, and Jameer Nelson pumped in another 15 to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

The X-factor, though, turned out to be small forward Matt Barnes, who played feisty defense against Kobe Bryant to go with his 10 points and 6 rebounds.

How feisty was feisty?

Barnes forced Bryant, who was playing with an ill stomach, into 12 for 30 shooting, including a potential game-tier with about two seconds left in the game. He also drew Kobe's 12th technical foul of the season.

Despite the horrible percentage, Bryant still managed to lead all scorers with 34 points. He also had 7 rebounds, 7 dimes, and 3 steals. Lakers forward Pau Gasol finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.

A Jason Williams jumper off a Howard assist gave Orlando its biggest lead of the game with 2:27 left in the third quarter. After ending that canto 74-64 in favor of the Magic, the Lakers would start the fourth with six straight points to get within four, 74-70, forcing Orlando to call time.

After a Pau Gasol tip-in made it 90-87, with two minutes left in the game, Carter would lose the ball to a Bryant steal, but Bryant would miss the succeeding three, thanks to Barnes' defense. Then, on the other end, Barnes would hit a triple off a Nelson assist, widening the gap to 93-87.

A few sequences later and it was time for the Black Mamba to make his move. Off a 20-second timeout, Bryant would go on a 5-1 run versus the Magic team to get within a solitary point after Nelson halved free throws. Carter would then draw a Shannon Brown foul but split those as well, giving Orlando only a precarious two-point lead.

Kobe would then zoom up the court and launch a 20-footer, but it was not meant to be.

The loss gave the Lakers their first three-game losing streak since the Pau Gasol trade back in 2008. It was their 13th road loss, after losing only 12 last season.

GAME NOTES:

Orlando out-rebounded LA, 50-39, but gave up 19 turnovers in the process, compared to just 7 for the visitors.
In the eight times LA shot under 40 percent this season (they shot 37.5 in this game), LA has lost all 8 times.
Despite being perfect from the line, up until their respective end of the game free throws, both Nelson and Carter missed their first of two shots. Carter finished 13 of 14 and Nelson wound up 5 for 6.
Laker forward Ron Artest arrived at the game with a new 'do. His hair was a bright Lakers gold and shaved into his head was the word "defense" in three languages: Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese.

Scores:
ORLANDO MAGIC 96 : V. Carter - 25, D. Howard - 15, J. Nelson - 15, R. Lewis - 12, M. Barnes - 10, M. Pietrus - 7, M. Gortant - 6, J. Williams - 4, B. Bass - 2, J. Redick - 0
LOS ANGELES LAKERS 94 : K. Bryant - 34, P. Gasol - 20, D. Fisher - 11, R. Artest - 8, L. Odom - 8, S. Brown - 7, A. Bynum - 5, J. Powell - 1, J. Farmar - 0

Quarter Scoring:
31 - 24, 52 - 48, 74 - 64, 96 - 94

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