Losing with Grit
It was not a particularly great night for the Lakers who had to stare down defeat to Spurs. There were lessons to be learnt in the game and one might hope that the Lakers do not wallow in self pity but rather improve their strategy and ensure that the next encounter is a lot closer or even possibly goes their way. Tim Duncan made a great contribution with twenty four points in addition to the eleven rebounds that were fashioned on behalf of the Spurs side. They now hold the seventh victory in the Western Conference and can look to the future with great confidence about their ability to close out tricky games.
According to Ginobili it was an unbelievable win. Well, he can say that because he made ten out of twenty two shots. This indicates the value that they attach to a victory against the great Lakers who would intimidate any team on the circuit. According to him a few months ago, such a win would not be conceivable but now they have reached the high table and intend to stay there for some time. There was a thirty two point score from Pau Gasol while Kobe Bryant contributed another twenty two for the Lakers. This is the third defeat in four games for the Lakers. Although they are the top seeds in all but name, it seems that they need to get their act together in order to jump that final hurdle.
With this defeat, the Cleveland Cavaliers now have the best record and will have some comfort in the home court because it seems that will be the case for all the NBA major games from now onwards. At the same time Spurs cannot afford to be complacent. The Lakers will be smarting from this defeat and will probably put their efforts into revenge the next time that they meet. Any slip up in concentration or focus will be heavily punished and they do not want this kind of victory line to become just a onetime thing that goes straight back to the old days of the Lakers dominance.