L.A. Lakers

L.A. Lakers

The Denver Nuggets pulled out a huge win against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Sunday, winning 95-90 thanks to a stirring first half performance fromDanilo Gallinari, a strong second half from Raymond Feltonand a bipolar performance from Kobe Bryant. Kobe had a bad first quarter, shooting 2-9 as the two teams got off to a cold start. He turned it around in the second, hitting 4-6 shots and scoring 13 points to help L.A. open up a 47-40 halftime lead.
He went cold against in the second half, hitting 4-12 shots as Denver got back into the game, opened up a lead and held on.
Gallinari had 18 in the first half; Felton had shot 0-6 as a reserve in the first two quarters, but came on strong in the third. In the second half, Felton hit 6-9 shots (including three three-pointers) to lead Denver's comeback. Nene also turned it around at halftime, getting the better of Andrew Bynum after the Laker opened up the game by owning the paint.
Nene had a chance to ice the game with a pair of free throws with Denver leading 92-90 with 15 seconds left. Nene hit the first, and missed the second. But Kenyon Martin made sure the ice flowed down from the mountaintops and all over the court.
You can't see Andrew Bynum, who had 16 rebounds in 30 minutes before Phil Jacksonpulled him for the second half of the fourth, but he's on the bench shaking his head.
The win doesn't help Denver move up in the standings; it's rather certain the Nuggets will face Oklahoma City in the first round. But Denver certainly appreciates the confidence boost, and the loss (combined with San Antonio's win) severely damages L.A.'s hopes of catching up to the No. 1 seed. If these teams do meet again, it'd likely be in the Western Conference finals.
Sources: http://www.sbnation.com

L.A. Lakers