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Starring: The Grizzlies bringing the playoff intensity against a lackadaisical Lakers team. From the onset the Grizzlies looked hungry. Coming off a blowout loss to the Clippers the day before, they were looking to redeem themselves. The Lakers looked hungover:
But it was the defense that really let the Lakers down. The rim went unprotected. Cutters weren't bumped. Too many shots went uncontested. When the ball was turned over, too many Lakers watched instead of racing back on D. The result was too many easy shots and on a night where the Lakers couldn't hit their own open jumpers, they didn't have the firepower to overcome such poor effort. It got to the point that Mike Brown even sat Kobe in a key stretch of the 4th quarter.
Wait, what? Kobe was benched? Apparently after a series of frustrating plays where Tony Allen had his way with Kobe, Kobe punched a chair on the bench and Mike Brown decided he probably needed a breather. No biggie right? Afterwards, both parties said all the right things, and it should be a non-issue moving forward.
Much more after the jump...
Lakers News:
- Bryant stays mum on not playing in 4th quarter - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
- Rapid Reaction: Grizzlies 102, Lakers 96 - Los Angeles Lakers Blog - ESPNLA
- Lakers Late Night Replay vs. Memphis, plus postgame video - Los Angeles Lakers Blog - ESPNLA
- Kobe Bryant takes aim at another scoring record - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
- Sessions getting use to celebrities and title talk - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
- Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant unhappy at being benched late against Memphis Grizzlies - ESPNLA
- Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Lakers - Recap - March 25, 2012 - ESPN
- Mike Brown feeling left out of championship talk - Lakers blog : The Orange County Register
NBA.com:
- LAL 96, MEM 102: March 25 Running Diary | Lakers Blog
- LA Story: Brown Benches Bryant | Hang Time Blog
- Revenge Of The Thunder Bigs! | Hang Time Blog
ESPN.com:
- Joakim Noah of Chicago Bulls apologizes for incident with referee - ESPN Chicago
- Beware of the bears - TrueHoop Blog
- Sources: Fisher's OKC pay $2.3 million - TrueHoop Blog
Probasketball Talk:
- How Kevin Durant almost played for North Carolina
- Mickael Pietrus out indefinately with concussion after fall
- Yes, Kobe Bryant sat a key stretch of fourth quarter. So?
- Baseline to Baseline recaps: Are the Hawks and Jazz still playing?
- Thunder roll on Miami as Heat roll over
- Spurs list Tim Duncan as "DND – OLD"
Yahoo Sports:
- Tim Duncan missed Sunday night’s Spurs game because he’s ‘old,’ officially | Ball Don't Lie
- Debris from the imploded former home of the Orlando Magic strikes a bystander’s leg | Ball Don't Lie
Slam Online:
- Hawks’ Instant Reactions to 4OT Win
- Jeanie Buss Doesn’t Know if Phil Jackson Wants to Coach Again
- Knicks Players Have Picture of Championship Trophy Over Each Locker
- Stephen Curry to Get Another Opinion on Injured Right Ankle
- Q+A: Gerald Green
- Kobe Bryant Upset By Fourth Quarter Benching
- Post Up: Sunday Funday
Other Blogs and Links:
- Lakers’ Lazy Sunday Leads to Loss | Laker Nation
- Forum Blue And Gold " Lakers/Grizzlies: Frustration Is Your Word Of The Day
- Kobe Bryant unable to provide relief for Lakers from bench - Inside the Lakers
- Lakers Don’t Want To See Grizzlies In Playoffs - Lake Show Life
- Mike Brown Benches Kobe Bryant in 4th Quarter | Laker Nation
- Kobe Bryant Benched, Lakers Fall to Grizzlies at Staples | Lakers Nation
- Lakers Battle the Grizzlies in Season Series Finale | Laker Nation
- Jazz lose longest game in team history, in 4OT | The Salt Lake Tribune
- Joe Johnson finds his rhythm and Hawks win again | Jeff Schultz
- 'The Bigs' stepped forward and scorched Miami inside | NewsOK.com
- Memphis Grizzlies turn up intensity, beat back Lakers, 102-96 " The Commercial Appeal
- LAKERS NOTEBOOK: Brown has no bragging rights - LA Daily News
- Nuggets keep steering into blowouts on the road - The Denver Post
Multimedia:
- Grizzlies -at- Lakers - 3/25 - HD(1080P) Highlights
- LAKERS VIDEO: Grizzlies vs. Lakers
- LAKERS VIDEO: Postgame: Kobe Bryant
- SLAM ONLINE | " Video: Kobe Bryant Hits Left-Handed Leaner
- SLAM ONLINE | " Video: Rudy Gay Dunks Over Andrew Bynum
- Video: Marc Gasol knows how you feel on a Monday morning, thanks to Chris Paul | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports