Timber! Lakers cut down T’Wolves behind Black Mamba, Bench & Bigs
March 2, 2012 Leave a comment
After a solid but not great start to the season, the Lakers started the second half of their schedule against the upstart Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The battle of the Twin Cities vs. the Twin Towers was filled with intriguing story lines even before tip-off, including Kobe Bryant’s concussion and the status of Kevin Love. Thanks to my friends at Barry’s Tickets, I had the opportunity to check out the matchup first hand at Staples Center:
Nice seats Barry! I think I got a drip of Kobe's sweat on me from here...
As expected, the Black Mamba started and went off for 31 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists while wearing a Rip Hamilton-like face mask for the first time in his career. Kevin Love was a late scratch with flu-like symptoms and the Twin Towers took advantage as Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 13 rebounds with 3 blocks while Pau Gasol chipped in with 15 and 5 with 3 rejections of his own. Solid contributions from Barnes, World Peace, Fisher and Murphy meant the Lakers coasted most of the game, allowing me to enjoy my beer and BBQ beef sandwich stress-free.
The win moved the Lakers into 4th place into the West and a 1/2 game behind the Clippers for the #3 seed. With the last place Kings coming into Staples on Friday, the Lakers should be able to build on their momentum as long as they don’t look ahead to D-Wade and the Heat on Sunday.
