LOS ANGELES – The tag-team tandem of Chris Paul and David West proved too much for the Lakers to handle Tuesday night, as New Orleans snapped the Lakers’ six-game winning streak.
The Hornets avenged a 100-87 loss to the visiting Lakers, back on Dec. 23, at New Orleans Arena. The Hornets became only the second Western Conference team to beat the Lakers.
Previously, the Sacramento Kings were the only team outside the Eastern Conference that had been able to take the Lakers down.
But New Orleans was able to withstand Kobe Bryant’s 39-point scoring night because West poured in 40 points and Paul tallied 32 points, along with 15 assists.
“Everybody wants to talk about offense. Defense is where you win or lose games,” Bryant said.
The Lakers led 92-89, going into the fourth quarter. But the Hornets outscored them by 14 points in the final 12 minutes. Trailing 99-94, New Orleans went on a 15-0 run.
“I thought we burned a lot of energy in the third trying to catch up and stay ahead,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Bryant was able to give the Lakers a brief lead in the third quarter, when he had his hottest-shooting period of the season. Bryant made 8 of 9 field-goal attempts, including four 3-pointers. He was 6 of 7 from outside the 3-point arc overall.
The Lakers second home loss in 20 dates came with a costly tag line. Forward Lamar Odom suffered a hyper-extended right knee, with three minutes remaining in the second quarter and was lost for the remainder of the game.
The injury occurred when Odom landed awkwardly while going up for a rebound. He is scheduled to undergo a MRI exam Wednesday morning.
The Lakers sorely missed Odom because they had no one with the size and quickness to match up with West.
Odom’s injury is the second hit the Lakers’ forward corps has suffered. Luke Walton will miss at least two weeks because of an injured right foot.
With Walton out, Jackson placed Vladi Radmanovic back in the starting lineup. Radmanovic had started the first 20 games, before being removed for Walton.
However, Radmanovic largely was ineffective. He missed six of his seven field-goal tries, including both of his 3-point attempts.
