As the Lakers prepared for the matchup against Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in the Staples Center, there was much negative energy swirling around the locker room. Earlier that day, rookie D’Angelo Russell had a video of his leaked, containing a conversation between him and Nick Young regarding other women.
The only thing that seemed to overshadow that was the final meeting between two eventual Hall of Famers. Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, two of the top-5 shooting guards in NBA history, would get one final hoorah. Los Angeles pulled out an overtime victory, 102-100, ending a four-game skid.
Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 26 points, including two free throws to tie the game at 87 to force overtime; then he scored six more in the fifth period. D’Angelo Russell was the closest to Clarkson with 16 but shot a very ineffective 6/19 from the field. Julius Randle had 13 points, 14 rebounds, and the game-winning hook shot over Luol Deng with 1.9 seconds left in OT.
Kobe Bryant scored just two points in nine minutes before departing with shoulder pain.
Dwyane Wade looked younger than ever, tallying 26 points on 12/21 shooting, ten rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Luol Deng had a very impressive showing and him and Whiteside really buckled down on defense. The duo combined to block ten shots — seven from Whiteside and three from Deng. On top of their work on defense, Deng scored 22 and grabbed 11 boards, and Whiteside registered 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade leads Miami into Sacramento for a Friday battle against the Kings. Kobe, on the other hand, is questionable to play on Sunday when the Celtics come to town.
Around The League
The Spurs won their NBA-record 38th straight home game as they beat the Pelicans 100-92. Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 20 points and three steals, and Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard both added 16. Alexis Ajinca had 18 points to lead New Orleans.
Golden State pulled off a comeback victory in overtime against the Jazz, 103-96, and improved to 68-7. Klay Thompson had 18 points on the night, including the three that tied the game with 15 seconds left. Steph Curry had a game-high 31 points and added seven boards.
Chris Paul had his fifth 16+ assist game this year, tying him with Russell Westbrook for second in the league. He added 20 points and eight assists as the Clippers handled the Timberwolves, 99-79.
Scores
ATL 97 - TOR 105
PHX 94 - MIL 105
LAC 99 - MIN 79
DEN 109 - MEM 105
NYK 89 - DAL 91
NOLA 92 - SAS 100
GSW 103 (OT) - UTAH 96
WSH 111 - SAC 120
MIA 100 - LAL 102 (OT)
