Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – The Los Angeles Lakers had four days off
in between games.
That little break proved to be beneficial as they finally got in the win
column with a solid team effort on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin each scored 21 points to help Los Angeles to a
107-92 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Lakers (1-5), who were off to their worst start in Los Angeles history,
hadn’t lost six straight to open the season since the 1957-58 Minneapolis team
dropped its first seven.
Carlos Boozer finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Jordan Hill netted
12 with a career-high seven assists and Ed Davis added 10.
Al Jefferson paced the Hornets with 23 points, while Kemba Walker and Marvin
Williams scored 17 and 11, respectively. Lance Stephenson pulled down a game-
high 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles trailed the entire first half, but it came out firing on all
cylinders to take a 12-point lead with a quarter to play.
Boozer scored eight points during a 16-1 run, with his last bucket giving the
Lakers their first lead of the night. Lin and Bryant then both hit a 3-pointer
to cap the spurt for a 67-59 lead.
Davis’ layup with 2.4 seconds left in the third helped the hosts to a 76-64
advantage entering the fourth.
Charlotte cut the deficit to eight early in the fourth, but that’s as close as
it would get. The Lakers led by as many as 17 in the final frame.
The Hornets led 25-18 after the first quarter. Los Angeles cut the deficit to
two late in the second, but Charlotte ended the final 2:17 of the quarter on
an 11-4 run for a 51-42 halftime lead.
Game Notes
Charlotte kicked off a four-game road trip that it will finish with stops in
Portland, Phoenix and Golden State … The Hornets have lost 11 of their last
15 games at Staples Center … Los Angeles shot 42-for-82 from the floor …
Lin dished out seven assists … Charlotte made 3-of-14 from beyond the arc
and committed 14 turnovers.
