Lakers beat Spurs to clinch playoff berth

While Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson tried to downplay talk of a ‘statement game’ afterwards, it sure looked like one as his team beat the San Antonio Spurs on the road to officially clinch a playoff spot.  They won on the home court of the Western Conference’s second place team and in the process regained the best record in the entire NBA by a slim half game margin over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

All five of the Lakers’ starters scored in double figures, led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol who each totaled 23 points.  Gasol also earned a ‘double/double’ by adding 11 rebounds as did Lamar Odom who scored 12 points and pulled in 10 boards.  Trevor Arizia and Derek Fisher each contributed 10 points apiece in the Lakers’ victory which also earned them the Pacific Division title with over a month to play in the regular season.  Judging from Kobe Bryant’s post game comment on the matter, that’s not a particularly important goal for the team:

"Oh yeah..we're really big on Pacific Division titles."

The Spurs were led by Michael Finley and Tony Parker, who each posted 25 points in a losing cause.  Tim Duncan was the only other San Antonio player in double figures with 16 points and 11 rebounds.   Los Angeles jumped on the Spurs early, leading 35-17 after the first quarter and never giving their opponents a chance to get back in the game.  Parker said the first 12 minutes set the tone for the rest of the contest:

"We couldn't get anything done offensively, and defensively they made every shot. After that we were in a big hole, and against the Lakers it's tough to come back."

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich echoed these sentiments:

"It's difficult to spot the best team in the league 18 points and then go play. It was a really tough first quarter. They played great and didn't miss many shots. They made shots and we played badly."

The Lakers’ Bryant said that his team was somewhat surprised by their early success in the victory:

"You're always surprised you jump out early, particularly in this building because they play so well at home. But that's what we needed."

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson downplayed the victory, summarizing it simply as earning the team a winning road trip with back to back wins in Texas after Monday’s loss to the Portland Trailblazers in the “Rose City”:

"It salvaged a road trip.”