Lakers-Cavaliers: Cavs Drop First Game of Road Trip

The Cavaliers could have really used some healthy bodies on Monday night in their 105-88 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers (32-8).

With Zydrunas Ilgauskas (the team's only seven-footer) out, the Cavs had their work cut out for them down low.

Anderson Varejao started in Ilgauskas' place and, along with Ben Wallace, had to deal with L.A's "twin towers" for the majority of the night. 

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol combined for 36 points and 18 rebounds on 17-of-23 shooting from the floor.

With a shallow bench of big men, the Cavs didn't have much to throw at them.

Rookie J.J Hickson played 19 minutes and scored 11 points along with four rebounds, and Lorenzen Wright played eight scoreless minutes.

Kobe Bryant dislocated his ring finger early in the game and played with the throbbing pain throughout the game. He started the game checking LeBron James and injured his finger when swatting at the ball.

He struggled in the first half, but it was the second half when he picked it up and helped put the Cavs away for good. 

Kobe scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, including a stretch where he scored nine points during a Lakers 16-7 run that put the Lakers up by 18.

Kobe was the playmaker of the first half and the scorer in the second. To go along with his 20 points, he also dished out 12 assists and grabbed six rebounds. 

"It's always great when you go against the best," said James. He's one of the ultimate competitors that we have in our game today, and I enjoy going against him."

LeBron had an off night. Kobe took the challenge of playing defense on him, but it was a team effort by the Lakers to stop him.

LeBron shot just 9-of-25 from the floor and was only 4-for-8 from the line. He finished with 25 points and nine rebounds.

Mo Williams finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, but he only shot 6-of-16 from the field.

Overall, the Cavs just weren't knocking down shots and they finished the game shooting 43 percent as opposed to the Lakers' 52 percent.

This 17-point deficit is the largest of the season for Cleveland.

Look for them to bounce back Wednesday night in Portland.

LeBron can't be happy with his 9-of-25 performance and expect him to attack the basket early, rather than falling in love with contested jump shots. 

The Cavs will be in Golden State on Thursday and will travel to Utah on Saturday to close out their road trip.