The Los Angeles Lakers lost home court advantage in their first round NBA playoff series to the Hornets with a Game 1 loss, but they will try to get it back beginning with Game 3 in New Orleans on Friday night. The Lakers came back after their loss in the opener with an 87-78 win in Game 2. Here are the relevant details of Friday night's Game 3:
- What: Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, Lakers at Hornets
- Game Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Location: New Orleans Arena
- TV: ESPN, KCAL
- Hornet to Watch: Chris Paul; after the Hornets' point guard decimated the Lakers' defense with 33 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds in Game 1, Kobe Bryant took on the task of guarding Paul in Game 2. Paul is limited to 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting, but it also affected Bryant on the offensive end. Kobe scored just 11 points of his own on 3-of-10 shooting
- Laker to Watch: Pau Gasol has had a tough series. After eight points and six rebounds, and 2-of-9 shooting in Game 1, Gasol came back with a nearly identical performance in Game 2, with eight points and five rebounds. In Game 2, Gasol had zero defensive rebounds.
- Turnovers: After committing just three turnovers in Game 1, the Hornets turned the ball over 16 times in Game 2
- Shooting: Derek Fisher has made just three out of 15 two-point field goal attempts, but has hit both three-point attempts this series.
- Stay On The Court: Andrew Bynum has averaged 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks while shooting 66.7% from the field in the first two games, but because of foul trouble (10 fouls in two games) Bynum has averaged just 29 minutes on the floor.
- Bench Mob: In Game 1, the New Orleans bench scored 39 points on 16-of-22 shooting (72.7%), but in Game 2 the Hornets' reserves were limited to 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting (29.4%)
For more news on this first-round matchup, be sure to stay tuned to this story stream at SB Nation Los Angeles. For more NBA playoff coverage, check out SB Nation's NBA playoff bracket and schedule. For more news and information on the Lakers, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.