The Los Angeles Lakers were without Kobe Bryant's services once again but tonight they lost, for the first time since Bryant went out with a thigh injury, to the San Antonio Spurs with the final score 112-91. The Lakers went into halftime down big, and were unable to narrow the gap in the second half. Tony Parker led all scorers with 29 points.
The Lakers finished with 20 turnovers, 4 by Ramon Sessions. Mike Brown claimed the key to the game was all the unforced turnovers in the second quarter. Certainly the Lakers let the game slip at the point, which had been see-saw up until halftime. San Antonio outscored the Lakers by seventeen in the second quarter. However, Spurs coach Greg Popovich had a different conclusion.
"I looked hard but I didn't see Kobe out there."
During the game, Bryant told Cheryl Miller that he expects to return on Friday when the Lakers take on the Spurs once more. If not Friday, then hopefully he'll be available to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. With the Clippers breathing down the Lakers' neck, the Lakers have to face the Western Conference's two best teams three times this week.
Andrew Bynum threw down 21 points to lead the Lakers, shooting 50% from the field. LA actually shot almost 50% from the field on the game, but the Spurs shot 60% to blow them out of the water.