Lakers at Hawks (3/13/13)

This one wasn't pretty folks.  In fact, it got downright ugly at the end of it.  The Lakers fell to the Hawks 92-96.

The Lakers had no legs throughout, Dwight was in foul trouble, and they struggled to score against the shorthanded Hawks.  All night the Lakers missed open looks.  They found themselves down by 14 in the first half.  A heroic 3rd quarter from Kobe brought them within reach to start the 4th.

The Lakers took a 4 point lead early in the 4th, but then they took a lot of 3's and pretty much missed them all.  Yet they found themselves down by 4 with around 25 seconds to play.  Kobe hit another ridiculous turn-around 3 to bring them within 1.  They then had to foul to extend the game, and Atlanta's Kyle Korver made 1 of 2 free throws leaving the door wide open for LA.  Down by 2, Kobe came down the court guarded by Danhtay Jones.  He took one of his patented baseline fade-aways to tie the game and...it missed.  Kobe was next seen reeling in pain on the ground.  Jones walked under Kobe during his shot, and when Kobe landed he landed on Jones' foot causing him to severely sprain his ankle.  No foul called on the play.  The Hawks secured the rebound, hit two more free throws, and the game was over.

It simply was a dirty play.  It's well known in the sport of basketball that you don't undercut a shooter. It's dangerous.  And this play was proof.  The NBA should be ashamed of themselves if Jones is not punished (which it doesn't look like he will be). Especially since he has a history of doing these types of dirty plays.  He admittedly tripped Kobe in the 2009 playoffs.  I mean can you imagine what suspension would have been handed down if this were MWP?  Or if the play had injured LeBron?  The league has a HUGE double standard and it's honestly a disgrace. 

I love the Lakers, but the NBA is the most unscrupulous sports organization there is.

Notables:

The Good:
- Played like crap, but had a chance to win
- Utah also lost, so for the moment the 8th seed is retained 

The Bad:
- Earl Clark sprained his ankle
- Kobe sprained his ankle
- Tired legs in the second of a back-to-back
- Brick city from three point land

These injuries couldn't have come at a worse time.  The team is finally getting it together, and Pau is on the cusp of a return. They are in the middle of a playoff berth dogfight.  Now this.  Other players are going to have to step up.