Monday, February 9, 2009

Lakers End Cavaliers Home Winning Streak; Display Their Dominance


The Lakers just ended their eastern road trip with a very impressive 6-0 mark. Winning on the road in the NBA is far from easy, no matter how talented a team you are.

What made this trip all the more stunning was the final two games. The Lakers went into Boston and ended their 12 game winning streak on Thursday night ... then went into Cleveland and beat the Cavaliers. That loss was the first the Cavs has suffered at home all year (23-1).

That's amazing. The West's best went into the East's beasts and came away winners.

Now to add some more toppings: Kobe Bryant was far from his best in either game. Against Boston, Kobe was just 10-of-29 shooting and didn't hit a shot in the overtime. LA still came away with the win. Against Cleveland, Kobe had flu-like symptoms and wasn't himself. He did score 19 points (11 came in the first quarter) with his only 4th quarter points coming off a rainbow fadeaway over LeBron James.

Bryant's teammates were instrumental in the win. The same teammates that Phil Jackson left on the court for nearly the entire first half of the 4th quarter without Kobe (by the way, Odom was sitting too). That's the kind of trust Phil has in his bench guys.

Oh ... some more toppin's. Remember that this road trip started with Andrew Bynum tearing up his knee again against Memphis (second game of the trip) and finding out that he'd be out for the next two-or-three months.

Six games; six wins. Wins over Boston and Cleveland. Kobe's 61 point outburst at Madison Square Garden. Not a bad trip at all!

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