Shannon Brown Completes the Hat Trick of Dunks

After dropping two of their first three on an eight game road swing, the Lakers were badly in need of some inspiration.

One trip to the White House and a visit with Barack Obama later, the Lake Show found all the inspiration they needed. Nothing like a little praise from the leader of the free world to get those competitive juices flowing again. If the Lakers want to see the oval office in 2011, then they’ll need to show more of the effort displayed against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant had one of his vintage nights of efficient offensive production (26 pts, 8 assts, 8-15 from the field). Pau Gasol doubled his pleasure with 26 points and 10 boards. There was even a rare sighting of Gasol’s mean streak when he and Andray Blatche swapped technical fouls in the fourth. After the twin techs were called, Lamar Odom went right to Pau in the post and he proceeded to give Blatche the business.

Never mind KB24 doin’ work, though. Forget Pau’s punishing performance. We’re not even going to discuss Odom’s 15 points, 8 boards and 3 dimes.

Nope!

The tone for the 115-103 demolition of the Wizards was set by Shannon Brown.

Brown’s energy was contagious as he harassed anyone in the Verizon Center wearing a Wizards jersey. Shannon’s hard nosed defense led to a game best +19 during his 30 minutes of court time.

While his Obama inspired effort won’t be discussed on SportsCenter, his three throwdowns in preparation for the dunk contest certainly will make many a highlight reel. ShanWow completed the hat trick by catching an oop from Lamar, gliding for a one-handed break away jam and a Jordan-esque tip dunk on a missed free throw.

Enjoy!