With Pau Gasol (strained left hamstring) out of the lineup against Houston, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest were both in the starting five to begin the game. Odom, who has averaged nearly 33 minutes and 14 points in has last four games, has been a great fill in for both Gasol and Artest in the past week.
Los Angeles started the game methodically once again, but successfully distributed the ball the entire first quarter. The Lakers had no one player with more than six points, though three players (Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant, and Odom) shared this total. Turnovers seemed to be a problem early for both teams, but each finished the quarter with low totals of five (LA) and four (HOU).
Los Angeles 22, Houston 15.
Both teams in today's match up were regarded as high-powered offense with Houston averaging 100 points per game, and the Lakers with 104. However, the slow pace style of play continued through the second quarter due to strong defense by the Lakers, clearly due to the return of Artest.
Houston, who shot 1-14 from the three-point line, required a strong first half performance from bench forward, Carl Landry, who finished with 13 points after two. Kobe Bryant was the leading scorer with 15 points in 20 minutes.
Los Angeles 41, Houston 33.
The Lakers looked to speed up the tempo of the game after only scoring three points on the fast break, and 10 points off Houston turnovers. After shooting only 36 percent in the first half, Houston needed to step up their intensity in order to stay in the game.
Rockets guard, Aaron Brooks attempted to shoot Houston out of their&nb...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
