Lakers Beat the Pistons, Tacos on the Road

The Lakers can get the L.A. fans tacos, even on the road, right?  The Lakers beat the Pistons, 106 to 96.

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That may not be the case, but the Lakers won in an unorthodox fashion.  This was a tough win for the Lakers.

Both teams started off relatively lethargic on the floor.  Although the Pistons started with a sweet Jennings to Drummond lob dunk, there was little energy created within The Palace.  The Lakers frontline dominated the game, spurred on by a quick 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting for Carlos Boozer in the first quarter.

The starting Laker backcourt, on the other hand, absolutely struggled.  By halftime, both Bryant and Lin combined for one total field goal, a made three-pointer by Jeremy Lin.  Nick Young picked up the slack with 10 points by halftime, mostly done with several And-1 plays.

Jordan Hill was the most consistent Laker throughout the game.  He finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds on 10 of 15 shooting from the field.  He outhustled the athletic frontline of the Pistons.

Overall, it was the best two-way showcase of the Laker team.  The Lakers were up by just one point at halftime, but had extended the lead in the third quarter, thanks to Kobe Bryant getting a bit hot and scoring 12 points in the quarter.  It took him more than one half just to get started.  He was in a facilitating mode and didn’t look like he had the energy and lift like he did against the Raptors.  His focus on playmaking paid off, as all five Laker starters finished with double figure points.

Although Bryant got hot in the second quarter, he also finished with 10 total turnovers.  While that may be perceived as a bad thing, the Lakers as a whole finished with 14 turnovers.  They protected the ball well.

The Pistons gave the Lakers a scare thanks to D.J. Augustin.  He, along with the bench unit of the Pistons, had cut the lead down to 7 points late in the fourth, but once the starters were subbed back into the game, they took control.

It was a rough game to watch, but the Lakers came out victorious.