Coming into Milwaukee, the Lakers were riding a two-game losing streak, and Kobe Bryant had been struggling with his shot. Thankfully for L.A., both problems came to an end on Wednesday, as Bryant hit on all seven of his first half shot attempts while the Lakers beat the Bucks, 104-98.
Kobe was 7-of-7 from the field in the first half, but it wasn't enough to keep his team from trailing by two at the break. He was just 3-of-12 in the second half, but Pau Gasol chipped in eight of his 15 during the fourth quarter, when L.A. held the Bucks to just 17 points and outscored them by seven in the period to seal the six-point victory.
The Lakers started off sluggishly, and found themselves down by nine points at the end of the first quarter. L.A. came back in the second, but it it was close game from there on out, until the Lakers were able to finally pull away late in the fourth.
If there was any doubt that the Lakers -- along with their fans -- have had enough and are ready for the post-season to begin,this observation
from an L.A. Times reporter should make things crystal clear:
Lamar Odom was seen sipping coffee at the end of the bench in the second quarter. Bryant walked by a group of courtside reporters and laughed at how bored they looked.
"Y'all look like you need something to write about," he said, smiling.
Everyone will have plenty to write about, once the playoffs get started in a couple of weeks. For now, though, L.A. will do its best to try not to sleep-walk through the rest of the regular season. Fans of the Lakers will do their very best to stay awake until the start of the post-season as well.
