Coming into this game I talked about how this game would be decided by which team’s strength won out in the end. Well, it was the Laker offense that handled their business in the 2nd half, leading them to a 90-81 lead that vaulted them into the 8th seed.

For most of this game it was actually the non-Kobe Lakers who carried the team on O. Through three quarters, Kobe and the Lakers were having a bit of trouble cracking the code of the Bulls’ strong side zone scheme with Luol Deng doing a very good job at the point of attack. Wherever Kobe went he had Deng pestering his dribble and a secondary defender (normally Joakim Noah) lurking near the paint to take away any drives to the rim. This left Kobe shooting contested jumpers with not too many of them falling.

Lucky for the Lakers, they have other offensive threats who can help fill that void. And while the first half saw what was mostly a slug fest between two dialed in defenses, the third quarter saw a shift in the form of Steve Nash finding his stride. Nash hit 4 of his 6 shots in the period to score 10 points. He hit a variety of tough shots and in doing so he was able to open up the floor for his teammates in a way that put a lot of stress on the defense. With Nash scoring well, that’s when Kobe was also able to assert himself offensively, scoring 8 points on 2-3 shooting in his own right. Combine that with Earl Clark’s 6 points and Meeks knocking down a three pointer and the Lakers were able to outscore the Bulls by 8 in the period and create the separation they’d use to put their collective foot on the necks of the Bulls in the 4th quarter.

In that final period, everything started to work for the Lakers as they finally figured out how to attack the Bulls’ defense. By picking on Carlos Boozer with P&R actions, the Lakers exposed the Bulls’ worst big man defender and compromised the middle of the defense for easy baskets. The Lakers made a subtle adjustment by using Ron as the screener in the P&R to make Boozer hedge out and try to contain Kobe coming off the pick. Kobe was then able to attack Boozer and create shots for himself and for others, including a lob for Dwight that made the Bulls make another adjustment — a switch of Noah onto Ron. So, on the next play down the Lakers simply ran a P&R with Dwight to once again involve Boozer and that set up a rhythm jumper for Ron when Noah once again had to help. All in all, Kobe had 4 of his game high 9 assists in that 4th quarter, all of them important to closing out the game.

The dismantling of the Bulls down the stretch was as much about execution as it was shot making but it was also the Lakers simply clicking on O in a way we’ve rarely seen against such a disciplined defensive team.

But it wasn’t just the Lakers’ offense that played well, their defense was also very sharp — and for the entire game to boot. It started with Dwight Howard whose activity and effectiveness on that side of the ball is starting to approximate what he was doing before his back surgery. Dwight was excellent in defending the rim by challenging shots, accumulating 4 blocks and altering countless others. But where Howard was also brilliant was in his off ball work, stepping out on the pin down screens and curl actions the Bulls like to run and effectively crowding the paint in the process. Dwight’s movements around the floor gummed up an already challenged Bulls’ scheme and made it so his teammates could recover to their man without being exposed. Furthermore, Dwight was able to do all these things and still recover back to the paint to rebound the ball, grabbing 14 defensive rebounds (21 total) in the process of anchoring the team’s D.

Overall, this may have been the most complete game the Lakers have played since they began to rack up wins. There was no need for a dramatic come back. There was no let down to start the game or to close any quarters. They were strong on both sides of the ball, didn’t commit turnovers in excess, and pretty much controlled the tempo of the game all day. And really, that was what impressed most. The Lakers played their game and dictated to the Bulls the terms of engagement. And, with that, they won fairly easily.

So, now, the Lakers find themselves back into the field of 8. And while the goals will be to move up and gain better seeding, the focus of playing their best ball each game and furthering their chemistry to establish the style they can use to win is what’s most important. As they continue to make strides, they become even more dangerous. It finally looks to be coming together for this team.

UPDATE: In my original post I had a paragraph on Ron’s defensive effort that somehow got deleted when I published. Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the way that Ron played Boozer defensively, battling him for position and limiting his ability to do any damage. Boozer can be a particularly difficult match up when he gets his game going, but Ron effectively pushed him off his spots and was able to disrupt his ability to even make a catch. When Boozer did get the ball, Ron stripped him of the ball multiple times and threw off his rhythm further. And while Ron didn’t have a great night shooting the ball from the outside (0-6 on threes), his defense was instrumental in helping to shut down one of the only good weapons the Bulls had available to them and for that he deserves some recognition.

For one night, I don’t care that the Lakers started out slowly when they needed to come out crisp and with better effort. I don’t care that the defense still has too many holes and that they don’t get the stops that they need over the course of the game. I don’t care about the lack of adjustments, the turnovers, or the missed three pointers by the role players. I don’t care that they were down most of the game to another lottery bound team.

I. Don’t. Care.

The Lakers aren’t a perfect team. Far, far from it. They have countless flaws, are banged up, and are so up and down Six Flags is going to model their next roller coaster after their season. They’re the 9th seed for a reason — actually for many reasons — and the team we all hoped they’d be when they were assembled last July is not the team we see in front of us today.

Right now, though, I don’t care.

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20-0.

That’s the run the Lakers went on to close out the Hornets over the last 6:46 of the game. The Lakers hit 7 of their last 10 shots while the Hornets missed all 12 of their attempts and committed 5 turnovers.

33-9.

That’s the final 4th quarter tally, a combination of fantastic Laker basketball and an incredible collapse from the Hornets that left everyone a bit stunned at what they were watching.

The Lakers really had no right winning this game. Early on, they looked like they were playing in quicksand defensively and forgot how to operate their offense on the other end. The played the part of the “physically and mentally tired team on the 2nd night of a back to back” part to a tee, leaving everyone more than a bit frustrated.

At the end of the 1st quarter they were lucky to be tied, but by the end of the 2nd their luck ran out as they trailed by 19. At one point in the 3rd quarter they trailed by 25. They were dead in the water and the Hornets were picking away at their carcass with made jumpers, savvy drives, and excellent defense.

But then, at the start of the 4th quarter, things just started to click as the Lakers turned up their energy and aggression on both sides of the ball.

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Coming into tonight’s match up against the Thunder, it’s hard to expect the Lakers to record only the fifth win for a road team in Oklahoma City this year. The Thunder have been nearly unbeatable at home — and in two of the three games this season — have been much better than the Lakers on the floor.

As Phillip noted in the game preview, winning this game was always going to be a tough task. The Thunder are a fantastic team and beating them at home is difficult for any team, not just a Laker squad who’s finding their stride but still not playing at an incredibly high level. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the final score (122-105) favored OKC.

The Lakers lost this game early, coming out too flat without the needed level of energy and focus on execution they’d need to keep pace with the Thunder. Even though OKC wasn’t as sharp as they could have been — they missed several open jumpers — they still had an edge on a Laker team insistent on committing turnovers and not hitting their own open shots. The first quarter closed with the Lakers trailing by 9 and that was just the beginning of the hole they’d find themselves in early.

In the 2nd quarter, the lead would swell to 16 as OKC found their stride with their 2nd unit by pushing the pace and keeping the  Lakers off balance. Reggie Jackson and (gasp) Derek Fisher provided steady play from the back court and really played to their team’s strengths while the Lakers floundered defensively and grasped at straws offensively by playing too much isolation ball and walking that fine line of relying too much on their outside shooting.

The back drop to all this was the fact that in the 1st quarter Kobe hurt his elbow and was clearly affected by what’s being called a bruised ulnar nerve. Kobe battled through this ailment and still had a good scoring night, but it was obvious he was in pain and needed help to try and prop up the Laker offense in those first 24 minutes. The problem was, he simply didn’t get it. At least not from his starting mates.

In that first half, both Dwight Howard and Steve Nash went 1-7 from the floor, scoring a paltry 9 points on those 14 shots. Add in Ron’s single point on 0-2 shooting and three-fifths of the starting lineup simply couldn’t buy a basket. Combined with 11 first half turnovers, those missed shots lead to fast break chances that put undue pressure on the Laker defense that they couldn’t stand up to. And, after 24 minutes, the Thunder had 71 points and a lead that they’d never surrender.

So, even though the 2nd half was better in terms of pace, structure, and non-Kobe contributions, the hole the Lakers dug themselves via their early struggles were too much to overcome. Yes, Nash played a very good 2nd half (16 points, 6-8 shooting) and Ron really found his stride on offense (15 points, 5-9 shooting). And, yes, Kobe continued to battle through his elbow issues to stay assertive and hit some much needed shots. The push they made was admirable and the fact they got as close as 5 points was a huge boost for the entire team.

But it wasn’t enough tonight. Not against one of the very best teams in the league on their home court. Not when they played so poorly early on. Winning this game would have been the ultimate luxury and the Lakers almost stole it (or at least put themselves in position where it seemed possible). But the loss only reinforces the fact that the games they should win that remain on their schedule really are necessities. On that note, it’s on to the next one.

Some notes:

• In a season full of ups and downs, this was one of the low points for Dwight. His 1-7 stat line for the first half ended up being his final line of the night, with only 2 FT’s taken in the 2nd half augmenting his offensive output for the game. And while he had 16 rebounds for the game, the 2nd half also saw him only grab 7 of those (and not a single one on the offensive side of the ball) — many of those of the flatfooted variety. Dwight also didn’t have much impact defensively, often reaching (and fouling) on drives and not showing his recent spring to challenge shots around the basket. In the 2nd quarter he looked to bang his shoulder again and maybe that was the cause of his struggles. But, overall, the Lakers needed more from him tonight — especially on offense — but didn’t get it.
• Earl Clark ended the night with solid numbers but his first half turnovers were problematic. He had 5 of the Lakers 11 miscues and also took a couple of ill-advised shots. He did settle down as the game went on, but Coach D’Antoni still started Antawn Jamison in favor of Clark in the 2nd half. This move didn’t seem to affect Clark in the 2nd half, but we’ll see is this is a strategy that D’Antoni uses moving forward.
• Russel Westbrook was fantastic in scoring 37 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and handing out 5 assists. His work on the offensive glass was particularly impressive, grabbing 4 on the Lakers end of the floor. His ball handling also stood out, using a fantastic hesitation dribble to get himself into the lane against Kobe on multiple occasions. The way he moved looked like he had a strobe light on him, with herky-jerky movements allowing him to freeze his man and free him up as he drove. He really is a special talent.
• Durant was also very good even though he had an off (for him) shooting night. What was clear, though, is that the Lakers really don’t have a good option to put on KD as he left Ron and Clark in his wake with slick ball handling all to often. And while several of those shots he created off the dribble didn’t fall, he still shook free to attempt them and down the line, if the Lakers see them again, they probably won’t be as lucky.
• After the game both Kobe and Nash commented that the team really missed Gasol in this game and it’s easy to understand why they’d say so. Pau is a fantastic release valve on offense and someone who can create shots for himself and others from multiple spots on the floor. When OKC pressured the ball in the P&R or when the wings had to go to isolations, Pau could have really aided their offensive flow as another option. Not to mention with Dwight playing so poorly on offense, Pau could have anchored the pivot and been a more reliable option on that end of the floor.

Overall, I thought the Lakers fought hard to come back and showed spirit when climbing back from the hole they dug. It’s that fight that will aid them in the coming weeks when they push to try and make the post season. But the Thunder are too good a team to spot so many points and the Lakers were reminded of that fact again. On to New Orleans on Wednesday.

This game wasn’t the most beautiful thing to watch. The Lakers committed too many turnovers, had too many defensive lapses, and had too many offensive possessions that stalled out due to lack of ball movement. But the Lakers still found a way to win 99-98 and get back to .500 for the first time since 3 days after Christmas.

And it was mostly on the strength of Kobe Bryant’s ability to make some big plays down the stretch. The dunk above is the most obvious example, of course. Kobe obliterated Josh Smith on that amazing finish at the rim, but also had the game winning shot and two huge free throws on the Lakers final two offensive possessions that were the difference in this tightly contested game.

So, while there is plenty to dissect about this contest and much more the Lakers won’t be happy about when they review the film, a win is a win and the closing moments of this particular one were memorable. Focus on that and have a good night, folks. We’ll have more on this one tomorrow.