LAKERS vs CAVALIERS (POST-GAME REPORT)

LAKERS 101 - CAVALIERS 91

Well there you have it ladies and gents, the Lakers remain at the top with this win in Cleveland, Ohio. Not only do the Lakers do what no other team has done so far; handing the Cavs their first loss at home snapping their win streak of 23, but they sweep the 6 game road trip. This another statement game to the rest of the teams, letting them know that they ARE the team to beat this year.

A highly anticipated game with people buzzing about the match-up of Kobe and LeBron, once again was non-existent, and instead it was Lamar "The Goods" Odom who stole the spotlight. And after that game you know why they call him "The Goods" putting up 28pts, and 17rebs on 13 of 19 shooting. After being down 10 points entering the half, L.O. was the difference and was significant to the Lakers win while going on a spurt of 15pts and 10rebs in the 3rd quarter alone, entering the 4th up by 5 points. While Kobe was feeling a bit under the weather today suffering from flu-like symptoms, he only managed to get 19pts. D-Fish had another clean game with 13pts, 3asts, 3stls, and 0 turnovers. Though Pau wasn't as efficient as most nights, he still managed 18pts, 12rebs, and 6asts on 6 for 15 shooting, a little below his avaerage percentage.

LeBron was no better than Kobe today with 16pts but had 12asts, and 8 rebs due to some great Laker defense. They denied him the ball most possessions, and when he did have it, he either had a contested shot or he gave the ball up. No "triple-double" for the King today. The Cavs lit the Lakers up with threes shooting 47.8% from behind the arc. Mo Williams took part in that with 19pts and 4asts. Wally also hit 4 of 5 threes and finished with 16pts and 4rebs off the bench. Ilguaskas led the Cavs in scoring with 22pts and 9rebs. And Varejao still a bit stagnant since coming off the bench with 6pts, and 9rebs.

This is another example when Laker stars aren't up to par, the other Lakers always step up. And this is by far the best defense I've seen the Lakers play for some time holding the Cavs to 39% shooting. They took care of the ball and limited their turnovers to only 6, while the Cavs had 9. It was just an overall great performance by the Lakers. I only hope they continue this energy and intensity. Up next is Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

FUN FACT:
The Lakers became the first team in NBA history to win back-to-back games, both on the road, against teams with .800-plus win percentage at least 40 games into the season.