Lakers Hit Bump and Game-Winner Against Bucks

On Dec. 4, Kobe Bryant banked a miracle three-point shot at the final buzzer to give the Lakers a 108-107 win over Miami at the Staples Center.

Now, almost two weeks and one avulsion fracture of the index finger later, Kobe Bryant has done it again.  This time it was a step-back fall away 15-footer on the road to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-106 in overtime.

Bryant’s game-winner and his 39 points upstaged teammate Pau Gasol who had his first career 20-plus double-double.  Gasol scored 26 points and snared 22 rebounds.

But other than the play of Bryant, who had 42 points last night in Chicago, and Gasol, the Lakers’ first extended road trip of the season has been a bit of a struggle. The team is 2-1 but could easily be 1-2 or 0-3. 

Phil Jackson called tonight’s victory a “miraculous win.”  He wasn’t at all pleased with the Lakers’ performance in the middle of the fourth quarter when they allowed the Bucks to regain the lead.

Prior to the game, Jackson said that if the Lakers played the same way they played in Chicago, they would be in trouble.

He was right.  The Lakers were in trouble the entire game and had to claw their way back to tie the score at 93 on Bryant’s jumper with just 2:11 left in regulation.

Ironically, Bryant had a chance to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter but missed the same shot that he would hit in overtime to win it.

Referring to Bryant’s missed shot that sent the game into overtime, Jackson joked, “Why did he (Bryant) have to waste an extra half-hour of our lives?”

But the way the Lakers have been playing on the road has been no joke.

On Tuesday night, the Bulls outrebounded the Lakers 51-37 and 22-6 on the offensive boards.  Tonight, thanks to Gasol, the Lakers outrebounded the Bucks overall but were still outdone on the offensive boards, 9-6. 

That’s a trend that cannot continue if the Lakers want to keep pace with Boston and retain their NBA crown.

Another trend that needs to correct itself is allowing wide-open three-point shots.  Tonight, Milwaukee hit 35 percent of its threes (10-for-29) to the Lakers 25 percent (4-for-16). 

It was much worse in Utah where the Lakers allowed the Jazz to hit 39 percent (7-for-18) while the Lakers could only manage 14 percent (3-for-21). 

Although the Lakers bench has been holding its own scoring-wise, tonight was a different story.  The Bucks reserves outscored the Lakers bench 50-15.

While Kobe Bryant’s shooting hasn’t been affected by his broken finger, I cannot say the same for his ball handling.  He had eight turnovers in Chicago and another seven tonight in Milwaukee. 

However, I fully expect him to figure it out and get a handle on the turnovers.  Let’s hope it will be sooner rather than later.

If any Lakers fans are concerned with Andrew Bynum’s recent performances, don’t be. Jackson revealed that Bynum has been suffering from a cold and his energy level is low.  

I’m sure being on the road doesn’t help matters either. But two days of R&R back home in New York City should help as the Lakers get ready to play the Nets on Saturday. 

Then it’s on to Detroit to close out this short road trip on Sunday.