LA stomps Orlando

March 14, 2011 - In a game which pitted two of the top teams in both the East and West, the Lakers prevailed in a landslide victory by a score of 97-84. Pau Gasol was the man of the night, scoring 23 points on 10-17 FG. Kobe added 16 points while still favoring his injured ankle from the game two nights before. The Lakers have now won 10 out of 11 games since the All-Star break.

Bynum man-handled Howard during the game, finally showing his true potential

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds on the night. But the key is he had 9 turnovers, which was 4 more than the entire Lakers team. This is obviously a great sign for the team who is going on a tremendous peak in their game right now.

Lamar Odom leads the 2nd string, with Shannon Brown, Steve Blake, and Matt Barnes helping to round out the best bench in the NBA

The Magic led throughout the first half, but LA pulled away in the second. Odom had 16 points on the night as well, and Fisher had 15. But the key to the game was Andrew Bynum. He had 18 rebounds and 4 blocks. I was watching this game, and he was dominating Dwight Howard through the night. Howard had a scared look in his face as Bynum was too strong inside for anybody. He is definitely a force to be reckoned with and as long as he stays healthy, he'll be a key to winning the 3-peat this year. Also, I hope the reserves keep it up because they are the best bench in the entire NBA. They're really helping to give the starters rest while still being able to put up big numbers against opposing starting squads.

The next game will be Friday, March 18 vs. the Timberwolves in LA.