The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Los Angeles Clippers by a final score of 102 to 94, after getting killed on the glass in the first half as the Clippers jumped out to a big lead. In the 2nd half, Kobe came out firing and scored the majority of his 42 points (Kobe reached 40 for the 4th game in a row) after the break. Most of those looks were not of the variety that we'd recommend taking very often, coming mostly on the perimeter from isolation sets, instead of from quick hits created from off-ball movement or on the low block. That said, even as Kobe's shot selection left much to be desired, he was the most efficient player on the floor for the Lakers, doing his damage on 28 shots and 35 total possessions, while fellow stars Pau Gasol (14 points on 17 shots) and Andrew Bynum (12 points on 13 shots) failed to do as much damage with their few opportunities.
With the Lakers playing their 4th game in 5 nights, and their 14th overall, against a Clippers squad coming in with 2 days rest and playing just their 9th game of the season, this was a game that was predictable in the final outcome. Credit the Lakers with working harder to corral the boards in the 2nd half, and making this game competitive down the stretch. In the end, Chris Paul was just too strong for the Clippers. Paul had 10 fourth quarter points, including a momentum changing 35 footer to beat the shot clock, before checking out of the game with an unknown injury.