Lakers at Spurs (1/9/13)

A valiant effort tonight, but alas, no W.  The Lakers lost a tough battle tonight against the San Antonio Spurs on the road in the second of a back to back.  They fell 105-108 in their second game without their entire front court (Howard, Gasol, and Hill).  Steve Blake is also still out and recovering from surgery.

They fell behind by double digits multiple times, but they never quit.  A team as shorthanded as the Lakers needs to play desperate.  They definitely delivered in the energy aspect. Kobe's shot was off to start the game (as well as his free throws), but MWP and Nash kept the team afloat. Kobe turned it on again in the second half after getting a technical foul for complaining about a no call on a drive to the hoop. The Lakers missed several defensive assignments throughout (Kobe a few times) leading to easy buckets for San Antonio.  Earl Clark was undoubtedly the game's hero for the Lakers by putting up 22 points and 13 rebounds.  It was an extraordinary effort from the Lakers's 4th string PF.  When opportunities arise, guys have to step up, and that's what he did.

The Lakers were able to cut the deficit to 3 with about 2 1/2 minutes to go (from 17).  They even got multiple consecutive stops from that point on.  The only problem was they failed to convert on the other end.  MWP missed a layup in a 4 on 2 break.  Jamison missed a corner 3 on a feed from Nash.  Then Ginobli hit a 3 to put the Spurs up 6.  Earl Clarke responded with a 3 of his own and the Lakers got another stop.  Kobe took a tough 3 that went long, and the rebound was tapped out to Clarke who missed a last second attempt. 

Notables:

The Good:
- Career night for Clarke.  Hopefully he can continue to play well while the other bigs get healthy.  He also played excellent defense on Ginobli
- Solid effort
- 4th Q defense

The Bad:
- Too many missed assignments
- Too many second chance points allowed
- Missed shots in the final 2 minutes

The Lakers have lost to the Spurs by a combined 5 points this season.  The first meeting they had no Nash and no coach.  This time they had no Pau, Dwight, or Hill.  Unfortunately all that matters is that they count as 2 losses on a horrible record.