I make my triumphant (okay, maybe not triumphant) return to the world of live blogging tonight, as cats and dogs fall from the sky in Southern California. I might be a little rusty. I used to do this quite a bit at my old blog, but the last instance was the Lakers, Clippers preseason game last season.
Lets get this party started from the half.
Halftime score: Jazz 70, Lakers 51
Halftime thoughts: Kobe is basically the lifeline for the Lakers right now. Through the half, Kobe has 22, with the next leading scorer; Andrew Bynum, at eight. It's no surprise that Kobe is taking control of the offense for the Lakers. Kobe is averaging just over 40 points a game in his last three contests in Utah. The Jazz are playing extremely well with Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur out. AK 47 has 13 with six assists.
Third Quarter
11:31 - The Lakers come out of the gate with an uncontested Kobe slam, bringing his point total to 24.
10:59 - Odom is getting back on track, nailing a clean shot, adding to his five on the night.
10:08 - Kirilenko is playing awesome ball tonight. 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.
8:55 - Deron Williams is on fire, turning a steal into a bucket, bringing his total to 22 on the night.
8:55 - Woo. Special interest piece on Deron Williams about how HE feels he is underrated.
7:46 - Lamar Odom just tackled Ronny Brewer. This game is getting out of hand. 83-57. Where's the Lakers offense? Kirilenko is splitting it. Where's the Lakers defense? Deron Williams is exploiting it.
7:14 - Jordan Farmar is a little spark plug. Huge three, smart foul.
6:40 - Some of you might not have heard of Jazz forward, Paul Milsap. The guy has 16.
6:07 - Farmar nets another three!
5:27 - Farmar outran Kirilenko on a sweet pass from Kobe. 8-0 run Lakers; all eight from Farmar Jazz 87, Lakers 68.
5:26 - I've been meaning to mention Kyrylo Fresneko. He was called up from the D-League earlier today, and has since posted six points, six rebounds and showed a huge presence for a guy in his first NBA game.
4:38 - The game is now on mute. I've endured three and a half quarters of the person ringing a cowbell after every Jazz basket. If you are watching this game on ESPN, you know what I mean.
4:00 - Kobe just posterized Fresneko, but the Lakers simply can't shut down the Jazz in transition.
3:12 - Farmar ANOTHER THREE!! 15 points off the bench so far.
1:17 - Kieilenko is running the offense, playing what essentially is a point guard, and utilizing his height, dishing out beautiful assists down low.
0:56 - It's still pouring rain here. It has literally been consistently raining since I woke up this morning.
0:22 - REF DOWN!
Fourth Quarter Jazz 102, Lakers 82
11:46 - Farmar is taking control of the Lakers offense (that isn't saying much). Pretty sweet alley-oop layup with the dish from Walton.
11:01 - Kirilenko gets his 10th assist on the night on a Deron Williams three. Williams has matched his career high at 33.
10:04 - Have I ever expressed my dislike for Chris Mihm? I STILL can't believe he got re-signed. I say that as he knocks nearly knocks Fresneko's dome off.
7:40 - Evel Knievel died?
7:22 - Kirilenko is two rebounds from a triple-double. It's been really fin to watch him tonight.
7:04 - Dang, Matt Harpring has 12 and eight tonight.
6:40 - Yes! J-Crit is in!
6:27 - Was that a "Kobe sucks" chant?
5:56 - The Clippers are getting clowned in Denver, 102-86. Remember 4-0?
5:56 - Jeez, Jerry Sloan has coached the Jazz for 20 years. Thats a legacy... and according to ESPN, he loves TRACTORS!! and just for fun, he "goes out back and sits on them." Priceless analysis brought to you by the worldwide leader.
4:45 - Kirilenko is one block from a 5x5! Five or more in : points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks!
4:08 - Jazz 112, Lakers 90.
3:42 - Crittenton just dished out an amazing pass to Odom who, of course, missed the three. That would have been a SportsCenter top 10.
3:34 - Hey look. Ariza is in. He's really making an impact. Not.
2:56 - It looks like Kirilenko is taking a seat. What a night for AK. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, six steals, and four blocks. Awesome outing to say the least.
2:31 - Paul Milsap tied his career high with 20 points and eight rebounds.
0:43 - Kyrylo Fresneko is a 'G'. He just gave up an open layup and assisted C.J. Miles with a sweet dunk.
0:00 - Boo. Game over. Horrible defense Lakers.
Final Score Jazz 120, Lakers 96
Post mortem: There's not much to say here. The Lakers simply couldn't contain AK 47 who was one block short from the coveted 5x5. It didn't help that Deron Williams dropped a career high with 35. The icing on the cake? The Lakers let Kyrylo Fresneko step all over them in his first career NBA appearance.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
