December 29th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Maybe their huge win over the Boston Celtics lit a fire under the Los Angeles Lakers’ behinds because in their game Sunday against the Golden State Warriors, they played like a team possessed; they shot 51.6% from the floor and dominated the Warriors in the meaningful stats. Bottom line? They dominated the first and third quarters as Los Angeles destroyed Golden State 130-113 at Staples Center.
Both teams shot fairly well in the first half as Los Angeles outscored Golden State 34-27 in the first quarter while both teams scored 31 in the second quarter, sending the Lakers to their locker room with a 65-58 lead. The Lakers would take over for good as they had a 37-point third quarter, which increased their margin to 102-85 going into the final period; both teams matched baskets the rest of the way a sLos Angeles cruised to the victory.
Los Angeles’ high scorer was Kobe Bryant with 31 points (including three 3-pointers), 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals while Derek Fisher added 19 with 3 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal; Sasha Vujacic pitched in, scoring 17 (including 4 treys) with 2 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal while Andrew Bynum added 13 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot.
Golden State was led by Jamal Crawford with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while a trio of Warriors – Marco Belinelli, Brandan Wright and C.J. Watson – scored 14 apiece; Belinelli grabbed 2 rebounds, dished out 2 assists along with a steal while Wright grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and blocked 2 shots. Watson grabbed a rebound, dished out an assist and had 2 steals. Los Angeles (25-5) plays again on Friday when they host the Utah Jazz while Golden State (9-23) returns home to host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
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