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BROOKLYN, NY -- In what may have been the biggest spectacle in Brooklyn this year -- even bigger than LeBron James and the Heat coming to town last week -- the Los Angeles Lakers were in town. but without the services of Dwight Howard, who was out with a shoulder injury.
That said, the atmosphere at the Barclays was alive, to put it lightly.
The Nets entered the night with a 17-0 record against teams under .500, but obviously this wasn't you're typical sub-.500 team. The two teams battled back and forth, with Brook Lopez playing one of his best games of the year on both sides of the ball (aside from an early struggle defensively against Gasol). Lopez led the Nets with 30 points and 10 rebounds, notching his 10th double-double of the season, but it was just too much Kobe Bryant.
Kobe, along with one of the dunks of the year, was just too much for the Nets down the stretch, scoring 21 points and leading the Lakers to a 92-83 win over the Nets.
Deron Williams seemed fired up early in this one, looking to push the pace and beat the Lakers out to the open court. Williams and Brook Lopez combined to score 18 first-quarter points, which matched the output of the entire Lakers team. The Nets carried a 24-18 lead into the second, after holding Los Angeles to 38.1 percent shooting in the first.
The Nets allowed the Lakers to even up the score, as they opened up the second quarter shooting 0-of-8 from the floor, against a Lakers second unit that was without Kobe, Steve Nash or Pau Gasol. Brooklyn's offense was atrocious for a 6-minute span. They couldn't distance themselves from a sub-par Lakers' unit.
And once Kobe, Gasol and Nash returned, the Nets already found themselves down by two points, 34-32. The Nets were awful throughout the quarter, shooting 6-of-23 from the floor, finding themselves down 49-40 at the half.
Brooklyn made a run early on the third, shaking off their second-quarter struggles. Reggie Evans provided a spark on the defensive side of the ball, but blocking Gasol for what may have been the defensive highlight of the game, while Johnson got going from downtown. Midway through the quarter, the Nets had pulled to within three, 57-54.
And after trading baskets, and answering each Kobe run, the Nets ended the third down by three points, 67-64.
Carlesimo had an interesting lineup in the end of the third with Wallace-Watson-Bogans-Humphries-Evans, opting to go defense-heavy. An interesting look, but one he didn't stick with very long. Williams and Lopez entered to start the fourth to give the Nets some offense.
The fourth quarter went back-and-forth, with the teams trading buckets early. Lopez, though, made a statement block on Kobe Bryant and helped push the offensive rhythm. It was back and forth, back and forth between Kobe and Lopez, with both players putting on a show.
However, late in the game, there was just too much Lakers for one man to contend with, as Los Angeles pulled away, winning 92-83.
For more on the Lakers, see: Silver Screen and Roll
- Lakers at Nets - February 5, 2013 - Boxscore - NBA.com
- Short-handed Lakers beat Nets 92-83 - Brian Mahoney - AP
- Game Highlights: Lakers vs. Nets (Video) - NBA.com
- Arena Link: Kobe Bryant (Video) - NBA.com
- Williams to Lopez (Video) - NBA.com
- Slammin' It Home (Video) - NBA.com
- Rap Around Flush (Video) - NBA.com
- Kobe Bryant Jams Over Gerald Wallace & Kris Humphries - Jose3030 (via Twitter)
- Carlesimo discusses 92-83 loss to the Lakers (Video) - YES Network
- Nets Post Game discusses the Nets loss to the Lakers (Video) - Ian Eagle & Jim Spanarkel - YES Network
- Lopez discusses the 92-83 loss to the Lakers (Video) - YES Network
- Kobe Bryant Leads the Way as the Lakers Creep a Little Closer to .500 - Howard Beck - New York Times
- Kobe Bryant delivers dunk for the ages on New York's newest basketball stage - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
- Nets fall to short-handed Lakers, 92-83 - Mike Vorkunov - Star-Ledger
- With Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace out, Kobe Bryant carries the load for LA Lakers - Kristie Ackert - NY Daily News
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As Prokhorov’s stars go in tank, Kobe dazzles - Mitch Lawrence - NY Daily News
- Bryant takes over Barclays - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Nets offense struggles vs. Lakers - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Wallace won't accept P.J.'s praise - Kieran Darcy - ESPN New York
- Brook takes blame for Nets' loss - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Nets blow lead down stretch as Kobe takes over - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Crowd is split 50-50 cheering for Nets, Lakers - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- At age 24, Brook Lopez continues to impress Nets - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Teletovic awaits P.J.’s call - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Vintage Bryant dazzles crowd at Barclays - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Nets’ skid against Lakers grows to 10 with 92-83 loss - Pete Caldera - The Record
- Undermanned Lakers knock off Nets - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Bryant's Late Show Upstages Nets - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Dwight Howard on playing hurt: 'This is my career' - Alex Raskin - USA Today
- Lakers Steal One In Brooklyn: Lakers 92, Nets 83 (Game Grades) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Rapid Recap: #Lakers 92, #Nets 83 - Jim Mancari - SNY Nets
- Lakers win third consecutive road game - Eric Pincus - Los Angeles Times
- First half game thread - NetsDaily
- Second half game thread - NetsDaily