NBA Vegas Lines: Los Angeles Lakers (2-1) at New Orleans Hornets (1-2)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
by Frank Martin
Suddenly this series takes on a sense of desperation for New Orleans. The Hornets are feeling the loss of David West as they fell to Los Angeles 100-86 in Game 3 Friday night.
Los Angeles had its best performance of the postseason, getting strong scoring performances from Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and limiting New Orleans to 2-of-13 shooting from 3-point range. The Lakers can take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series Sunday night in New Orleans.
- Los Angeles Lakers (2-1) at New Orleans Hornets (1-2)
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, April 24, 2011
Where: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: TNT, KCAL
The Lakers have opened as 6-point favorites on Sports Interaction’s Live NBA Basketball Odds.
Bryant finished with 30 points, his 80th career playoff game of 30-plus, and got the Lakers energized early with four 3-pointers. Gasol also had his best playoff performance with 17 points and 10 rebounds and started a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer.
"He is just too good a basketball player," coach Phil Jackson said. "He can shoot, he can handle the ball, he can do a lot of things. It’s just a matter of him finding a comfort zone out there." The Lakers also had 17 second-chance points to nine for the Hornets.
Chris Paul started well for the Hornets, scoring 18 first-half points, but had just four in the second half and never got into any rhythm in the final quarter. Carl Landry had 23 points and was 11 of 12 from the line. The Hornets’ big downfall was a poor performance from its reserves, who contributed just nine points.
They averaged almost 30 in the regular season and had 39 in Game 1. "When other guys are knocking down shots, it’s hard to key on Chris," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "When you look at the number tonight, we didn’t shoot the ball well (45.8 percent). They turned on the pressure after Game 1, and we haven’t handled that well."
Gasol led a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter with seven points and made just his second 3-pointer of the season. New Orleans guard Marco Belinelli scored just five points, going 2 of 8 from the field in 22 minutes.
The Hornets had 39 bench points in Game 1 but reserves are just 9 of 34 for 22 points in the last two games.
"I hate losing. I hate everything about it. It just makes everything bad — food, don't sleep well. Just the fact that we lost, just bothers me." – Williams.
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andrew bynum - carl landry - chris paul - david west - kobe bryant - los angeles lakers - marco belinelli - monty williams - new orleans arena - new orleans hornets