On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost for the 10th time in as many games, when the Charlotte Hornets beat LA 101-82 at Staples Center in blowout fashion. Considering LA only has nine wins on the NBA season, Sunday's loss felt more demoralizing than usual.
"This is a tough one," Lakers forward Nick Young said after the game. "It was embarrassing to hear the fans boo and all that. And they were just up 30 at one point--to Charlotte. We're down 30 to Charlotte! It's not the [San Antonio] Spurs. It's not OKC (Oklahoma City Thunder). It's the Charlotte Hornets. It hurt."
Kobe Bryant finished the game with 23 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes and shot 44 percent from the field despite his first five shot attempts. Bryant only played the first three quarter, as the Lakers trailed by 23 points at that advanced stage.
Despite only scoring 16 points in the first quarter, LA managed to keep the Hornets within sight. LA trailed by only five points after 12 minutes. Twelve minutes later, that lead had increased to 15 points, and that was in spite of 15 first-half points from Bryant.
Charlotte pulled away in the third quarter, as LA failed to match their visitors' intensity and quality of play. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Marvin Williams matched his front-court partner with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
For LA, the 41st loss genuinely felt worse than the 40 the team experienced prior to Sunday night. The boo birds sounded off with anger, as LA trailed by as many as 27 points. The crowd focused its attention on reserve forward Ryan Kelly. Kelly had a forgettable outing, and the crowd made sure to share their feelings with the struggling forward.
Next, the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
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Notes: Larry Nance Jr. missed the game due to a sore knee. Lakers coach
