Kobe And Bynum And Odom, Oh My! Lakers Dump On Denver 104-90

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap

The Los Angeles Lakers scored 67 points in the first half Friday night, coasted through the third quarter, and laughed their way through the fourth as they trounced the visiting Denver Nuggets 104-90. Kobe Bryant led the L.A. attack with a game high 29 points, but he also had lots of help as center Andrew Bynum, sixth man Lamar Odom, and forward Pau Gasol all had big games as well.

It is still too early in this young NBA campaign to talk about trends, we have not even hit the quarter pole of 20 games. With that being said however, so far it has been the two defending Conference Champions Boston and L.A. leading the way, with Cleveland and Orlando, starting to nose their way into the race. From there, the Association goes down a level to where the “New Look” Nuggets are as they are currently locked in a three way tie for first in the Northwest Division. The addition of Chauncey Billups has had a totally positive effect on the Denver lineup, as Carmelo Anthony, Nene, and Kenyon Martin are all realizing the benefits of having an elite point guard guiding the way.

Denver did not really have a bad game Friday night, but the Lakers just dominated the contest. Los Angeles broke out to a 35-20 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the Nuggets could never recover. The Lakers kept their foot on the accelerator in the second as they took a 20 point lead into the locker room up 67-47 at the half. Denver made their run in the third as Dahntay Jones drove the lane and put the ball up and in to make it a 71-60 contest with 6:52 left in the period. Los Angeles then scored 10 straight points, putting them ahead 81-60, they were up 88-67 at the end of the quarter. Denver never got close enough to challenge in the final 12 minutes.

Kobe Bryant had a game high 29 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, in the Los Angeles victory. Andrew Bynum recorded a double-double, 13 points, 13 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, Lamar Odom also put in 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block. Pau Gasol scored 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, Trevor Ariza had another nice night off of the bench with 11 points, 4 assists, 3 steals.

Denver had two players lead the team in scoring with 18 points each. Nene put in 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists, J.R. Smith came into the contest from the bench and had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists. Chauncey Billups contributed 15 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, Linas Kleiza added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal. Carmelo Anthony wound up with a double-double, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists. The Lakers are 10-1 after the victory, the Nuggets are 8-5.

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