Lakers Survive Grizzlies and the Turnovers

Beating your brother at hoops in the family driveway is one thing, but getting to pound on him in the professional ranks is quite another. It was the Spanish Civil War all over again; it was the vegan, brown Gargantua versus the meat-eating, green Gargantua; it was the big, bad older brother with the NBA hardware against the younger, hungrier sibling who just got his first taste of playoff success. And in the end, it was big brother Pau Gasol (13 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot) who went home with the bragging rights over younger bro Marc Gasol (2 points on 0-9, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocked shots) as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 90-82 at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant (26 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds) led the charge while Andrew Bynum (15 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals) and Gasol controlled the backboards. Matt Barnes (15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocked shots) was again the catalyst in the second half, providing an infusion of life into an otherwise, lackluster Lakers performance. The Lakers were plagued by the turnover bug once again, tonight amassing 27 oopsies that resulted in 24-freebie points for the Grizzlies. Turnovers were so bad throughout the game that Memphis’ best defense was to simply allow the Lakers to dribble the ball because sooner or later they were going to cough up the ball. And cough they did…

Missing their true, dominant post player in Zach Randolph (recovering from knee surgery), the Grizzlies seldom passed the ball inside. And when they did, they either missed badly or had their shots blocked. The Lakers enjoyed a 53-34 edge in the rebound department, although their bloated turnover tally provided Memphis with a 31-10 edge in points generated off the break. The contest started harmlessly enough as the Lakers exploited the porous Memphis ranks while stifling the Grizzlies with a suffocating, harassing defense. Kobe got started right away, dropping in 11-points and handing off 5-assists in the first quarter. Rudy Gay (19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Mike Conley (11 points, 8 assists, 4 steals) kept the Grizz close, although they trailed 31-22 after one.

Barnes picked-up where he left off Friday night, first draining a 3-pointer then poking the ball loose which resulted in a Gasol-led fast break that saw the Spaniard deliver a behind-the-back pass to Bynum for the “and-one.” When the Lakers weren’t scoring in spectacular fashion, they were sputtering badly in their half-court execution. Memphis would make runs to get themselves back into the game only to see Kobe adding more separation with one shot after another. If it weren’t for their 15 first half turnovers, the Lakers would easily have been up by over 20-points. Instead, they settled for a 56-46 lead at halftime.

The second half saw the Lakers continue to fumble the ball away. Unforced errors turned into fast break baskets for the Grizzlies as they managed to pull within striking distance. With Derek Fisher (0 points on 0-3, 5 assists, 1 rebound, 5 turnovers) unable to jump-start the Laker offense, Mike Brown went with Steve Blake (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal in 24-minutes) in the second half. But by this time, everyone was having difficulty hanging onto the ball. Kobe was stripped of the ball on the dribble, Drew was throwing the ball out of the double-team but into the hands of the defense. Exasperated and clearly trying to regain control, Kobe jab stepped and went baseline around Gay, spun in midair and threw down a two-handed jam on the opposite side. Thankfully, the 3rd quarter came to a close with Memphis unable to make up any ground and trailed 78-68.

The 4th was a continuation of futility on both sides. The Lakers were unable to hang onto the ball, and the Grizzlies were unable to score with the ball. Mercifully, the game finally came to an end giving the Lakers their sixth win at home while improving their overall record to 6-4. Troy Murphy added 6-points and 6-rebounds off the bench while the Grizzlies got help from Merreese Speights (17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), O.J. Mayo (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) and Quincy Pondexter (14 points, 4 rebounds). Next up is a Tuesday evening match-up against good friend, Shannon Brown and the visiting Phoenix Suns.