Los Angeles Lakers fired guns against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first half of their Game 4 in the Playoffs. If you watched the game, you can never forget that steal Anthony Davis made possible against Jusuf Nurkic just two minutes into the game. They started with a spot with a 10 to none score.
They played this post-season game on 8/24, sporting Black Mamba jerseys to pay tribute to the franchise legend. And as luck would have it, at one point, the Lakers were 24-8 ahead of the Blazers. The first half totally belonged to Kobe Bryant’s dynasty. Twitter exploded with reactions after half time ended.
Anthony Davis is already in monster mode 〰💪
(📺: @SpectrumSN & TNT) pic.twitter.com/h9CiCH9QKf
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 25, 2020
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Twitter has the Los Angeles Lakers all over the place!
The Lakers did not let the Blazers make a comeback at any point in the game. The second quarter began with some intensity from the Blazers, but it vaporized soon after. LeBron James showed a slow start but soon became an unstoppable force. Nothing like that came from him in the entire Orlando Bubble season restart. He had 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists until the half time. Anthony Davis, too, was not far away with his contribution of 18 points.
24-8 on 8/24 💜💛@LakersSBN pic.twitter.com/SQspvRlKPM
— SB Nation (@SBNation) August 25, 2020
Let us now have a look at the Twitter bird tweeting, as if it’ll pierce through the sky to bring back Kobe.
80pts…Lakers are rolling
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) August 25, 2020
This LeBron is a scary sight for anyone guarding him..
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 25, 2020
Los Angeles scored 80 points in the first 24 minutes of action, the most points the team has scored in a playoff half since they tallied a franchise-record 82 points in the first half on 4/23/87 vs. Denver, according to Lakers PR
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 25, 2020
The 80 points the Lakers scored in the first half are their most in a playoff half since 1987.
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 25, 2020
So yes, the Lakers just fell one point short of touching that “Kobe 81” magical figure in the first half. They ensured that Kobe was sitting somewhere smiling at the herculean performance from his side. They broke their own 33-YO record as they touched that 80. Just three more points and they could have beaten their last record too.
Why is this match so important?
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The Lakers have been under scrutiny all their time inside the Bubble for their offensive lacking. The critics raised enough concern on LeBron’s efficacy and Anthony Davis’s inconsistency in play. So it was necessary for them to show the haters that they can also have big games where they leave nothing on the table for the opponents.
Moreover, a high-scoring game like this will give them that mental edge to enter the conference semi-finals (which is looking highly probable now) in high spirits.
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If this grandeur performance results from Kobe Bryant’s spirit in them, given the importance of the date, the fans would want them to forever wear the Black Mamba. This team looked fierce today, and we finally can claim that they really have a shot at the NBA title this season. Let’s see how far can they take this Kobe spirit and whether they can give Kobe a posthumous ring.
#24 #8