December 14th, 2007 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
At the risk of stating the obvious, the following is true: the sooner the San Antonio Spurs get forward Tim Duncan and point guard Tony Parker back, the better off they will be. The Los Angeles Lakers broke open the game late en route to a close win over the Spurs 102-97 at Staples Center.Duncan has missed four straight games due to a sprained right ankle and Parker missed his first game of the season with a sprained left ankle. The Lakers shot a miserable 1-for-14 to start the game, yet they only trailed by one point at the end of one period. But they would rally, at one point leading by 10 points in the second quarter before settling for a 51-43 halftime lead. The first half was pretty much the Kobe Bryant Show, as Bryant scored 16 points in the first half, with none of his teammates scoring no more than 5.
Up-and-coming Lakers center Andrew Bynum managed to collect 2 technical fouls and was ejected with 4:32 left in the 3rd quarter and Los Angeles leading 63-59. San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen’s 3-pointer would tie the game at 81, but Lakers forward Vladamir Radmanovic’s 2 baskets would start a 18-5 run that would give Los Angeles a 99-86 lead with 3:40 left in the game. That would be a lead the Lakers would cling to for the remainder of the game.
Los Angeles’ high scorer was Bryant with 30 points; Lamar Odom poured in 15 as he and Bryant were the only Lakers players in double digits. San Antonio was led by Bowen with 22, including five 3-pointers. Brent Barry would add 17 from off the bench, while Manu Ginobili, on 5-of-17 shooting, scored 14. Fabricio Oberto chipped in 9 with 16 rebounds. Los Angeles (13-8) travels to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors Friday night, while San Antonio (17-5) returns home to host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Boo!
Kobe Bryant is a crybaby.