Down three at the half, Kobe Bryant took over for the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 14 points in the third quarter as the Lakers blew the game open. In the fourth, the Lakers stayed in control and held the Denver Nuggets at bay, cruising to a 107-97 win. That strong third quarter, in which the Lakers outscored the Nuggets 33-20, was all they needed as Denver struggled to crawl back into the game.
Nuggets Vs. Lakers Final Score: Kobe Bryant, Strong Second Half Push Gives LA 107-97 Win
Outside of the third quarter, it was a slow night for Bryant, who scored just four points in the other three frames. When Bryant wasn’t on, the rest of the team picked up the slack as four other players joined him in double figures.
Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, but did it on 10-24 shooting. Aaron Afflalo added 22 points and Chauncey Billups chipped in another 16 points. Nene grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Anthony added five assists.
Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest each had more than 17 points on the night, led by Gasol and Artest’s 19 points. Gasol added 13 rebounds and Odom added another 10 boards off the bench. Bryant took on a distributor role for much of the game, picking up a game-high seven assists.
The win was the Lakers’ 32nd of the season, boosting their record to 32-13. Denver fell to 24-18 with the loss.
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