Game 5: Lakers Exact Revenge

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 118-78, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Lakers dominated from the beginning, outscoring Houston 35-24 in the first quarter. The Rockets then scored 15 points in each of the next two quarters. LA put up a .512 shooting percentage, while Houston shot just .326. The Purple and Gold defeated the Rockets in almost every catagory, including rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, blocked shots, and fouls. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 26 points, and Pau Gasol added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had his best night of the playoffs, scoring 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, and Trevor Ariza had 13 and 3 steals. Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, and Josh Powell each scored in double-figures off the bench. Aaron Brooks led Houston with 14 points, Luis Scola had 12, and Von Wafer added 13.

Lakers Thunder Past OKC

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-89, their 56th win of the season. The Lakers shot 50% from the field despite resting their starters for most of the second half. With the extra time, the Los Angeles bench outscored Oklahoma City 39-22. OKC committed 18 turnovers and only went 3-for-18 from three-point range. Kobe Bryant had 19 points in his decreased playing-time, and Lamar Odom scored 18 points. Pau Gasol had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Josh Powell came off the bench to score 14 points, and Luke Walton had 11. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 24 points.

Lakers Outlast Houston

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 102-96, snapping their three-game road losing streak. The Lakers were without Lamar Odom, who was serving his one-game suspension for leaving the bench during Monday's loss in Portland. LA entered the second half trailing by 11 points, but out-scored Houston 62-45. The Rockets committed 23 turnovers, while the Lakers had only 12, 11 of which came in the first half. Kobe Bryant had 37 points and 6 assists, and Pau Gasol had 20 points. Josh Powell started for Odom, and had scored a season-high 17 points to go with 9 rebounds. Von Wafer came off the bench to lead the Rockets with 20 points, and Yao Ming had 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Lakers Reach Nifty 50

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-90, becoming the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins. Every Laker who suited up got to play, including Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison. The T-Wolves shot just %33 from the field, and LA committed just 4 turnovers and had 14 blocked shots. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 23 points, and Pau Gasol had 21 points with 9 rebounds. Josh Powell had 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots off the bench. DJ Mbenga had a stellar night, scoring a career-high 10 points to go with 4 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Ryan Gomes led Minnesota with 20 points, and former UCLA-star Kevin Love had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Lakers Slip Past Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 129-121, their 44th victory of the season. LA was short-handed after trading Chris Mihm, and played with just 9 Lakers in the game. The Lakers shot 50% from the field, while the Warriors shot .516. LA was 9-for-21 from beyond the arc, and Golden State was 8-for-19. The Lakers scored 28 points off turnovers and stole the ball 10 times. Kobe Byant scored 30 points and had 9 assists, and Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Lamar Odom added 22 points, and Trevor Ariza scored 17, including 2 consecutive big three-pointers that gave the Lakers a 111-109 lead in the fourth quarter. Josh Powell had a season-high 16 points and 7 rebounds. Ex-Clipper Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson both led the Warriors with 24 points, and Jamal Crawford had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Ex-Laker Ronny Turiaf had 123 points and 7 rebounds.

Lakers Breeze Past Wizards

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Washington Wizards 117-97, their third straight win. The Lakers scored 72 points in the first half to take a commanding lead, and the Wizards dropped to 9-33, making them next to last place in the NBA. The game gave big minutes to LA's bench, with Chris Mihm, Josh Powell and Sun Yue each having more than 5 minutes. 7 Lakers scored in double-figures, and the team shot a combined .536 from the field. Andrew Bynum had another dominant game, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in just 27:32. Pau Gasol scored 18 points to go with 5 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 16 points and 5 rebounds off the bench, and Derek Fisher had 8 assists and 4 steals. Sasha Vujacic scored 13 points, and Kobe Bryant had a quiet night with just 11. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 19 points, and JaVale McGee had a career-high 18 to go with 9 rebounds.

Lakers Avoid Repeat Loss

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers 121-119, avenging their last second loss to the Pacers in early December. Indiana tied the score when Mike Dunleavy, Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer with 26.4 seconds left, but Kobe Bryant hit a fall-away jump-shot with 3 seconds left to get the win. Defense took a night off as the Lakers shot .564 from inside the arc, while Indiana shot .488 to go with 11 3-pointers. Each team committed 13 turnovers, while Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Indian's Troy Murphy were each hit with technical fouls in the 4th quarter. Bryant led the game with 36 points and a season-high 13 assists, as well as 7 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had 20 points, and Pau Gasol had 21 with 11 rebounds. Josh Powell had his best game of the season off the bench, scoring 10 points. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 28 points, but fouled out with the game on the line. Murphy scored 24 points and Dunleavy had 22.

Lakers Regain Their Pau-wer

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 114-106, a day after losing to New Orleans at home. The Lakers trailed 80-77 going into the 4th quarter, but they took the lead for good. LA was without Lamar Odom, whose MRI revealed he has a bone bruise that will keep him day-to-day. Coach Phil Jackson played all of his 9 remaining guys, including Josh Powell and Sun Yue. Powell had 4 points and 4 rebounds, and Sun had a blocked shot. The Lakers had a .451 shooting percentage, while G.S. shot .484. Pau Gasol led the game with 33 points and 18 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant scored 21. Trevor Ariza had a season-high 17 points to go with 9 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sasha Vujacic scored 12 points and had 6 assists. Jamal Crawford led the Warriors with 25 points.