Kobe Bryant surprised many by appearing in the Lakers starting lineup in Indiana on Friday, but the ankle injury he suffered on Wednesday in Atlanta proved to be too limiting for him to do any damage against the Pacers.
Bryant played the entire first quarter, but went 0-4 from the field and asked out of the game after playing its first 12 minutes. He did not return and finished scoreless for the first time since 2004, but the Lakers got scoring from five others who finished in double figures as they beat the Pacers 99-93.
Dwight Howard led L.A. in scoring with 20 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, and four blocked shots. But the real offensive heroes in this one were Steve Blake, Antawn Jamison, and Metta World Peace, all of whom scored more than expected, and did so while shooting a high percentage.
The Lakers won this one on the strength of their three-point shooting, which has always been a big part of the team’s offense throughout the season, at least in terms of attempts. L.A. ranks third in the league in that category, but is just a middle of the pack squad in terms of the percentage of those shots it gets to go down.
Against the Pacers, the Lakers used dribble penetration from Steve Nash to set up shooters on the perimeter, or post-ups from Howard to do the same as the defense attempted to double.
Given the numbers, Indiana’s defensive plan wasn’t a bad one; the Lakers simply made a higher percentage of long range shots on this night than they have consistently all season. Jamison and Blake combined to shoot 9-14 from beyond the arc, World Peace made two of four, and the Lakers as a team knocked down 13 of 26 from three-point distance.
On the Pacers side, both David West and Roy Hibbert were brutal, combining to go just 7-25 from the field, while finishing with just eight and seven points, respectively. Paul George struggled to score consistently as well, and a huge 31-9 run by the Lakers that lasted from about two and a half minutes to go in the first until there were under three minutes remaining in the half put the Pacers in a tough spot the rest of the way.
It was clear watching Bryant play that the ankle was simply too limiting for him to be able to contribute. None of his four shot attempts were close, and his movement on the perimeter was extremely limited, to the point where he was hurting his team more than he was helping it.
Credit Bryant for mustering the will to play at all with an injury that severe, and credit him even more for knowing after 12 minutes that he was completely ineffective, to the point where he decided to take himself out.
This was a good opportunity for the Lakers to beat a quality team on the road, but on paper, they were supposed to beat the Hawks and they were supposed to lose to the Pacers. Ultimately, the two games ended with L.A. getting the one win that was expected, but the bounce-back effort on a night where Bryant literally provided nothing offensively was impressive nonetheless.