NBA 27/10/2009 - Los Angeles Clippers 92 Vs Los Angeles Lakers 99

There was no championship hangover for these Lakers

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Andrew Bynum added 26 on his 22nd birthday as the reigning NBA champions opened defense of their title Tuesday night with a 99-92 victory over the Clippers, their Staples Center co-tenants who played without injured No. 1 overall draft pick Blake Griffin.
The Lakers began the evening with a ceremony unveiling the franchise's 15th gold-and-purple championship banner, earned four months ago after defeating Orlando in the finals. Commissioner David Stern handed out diamond-encrusted rings to almost everyone from last season's team except for Ron Artest, who joined the Lakers in the offseason from Houston with the sole purpose of winning a gaudy bauble for himself. He traded places with Trevor Ariza, who replaced him with the Rockets.
The last time the Lakers opened a title defense was 2002-03, when they lost 87-82 to San Antonio.
Bryant was 11 of 12 from the line and had eight rebounds, while Bynum was 8 of 10 on free throws and had 13 rebounds.
Artest scored 10 points in his debut in the starting lineup. Pau Gasol sat out with a strained right hamstring and was replaced by Lamar Odom, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Eric Gordon scored 21 points for the Clippers, who lost their ninth in a row to the Lakers. Chris Kaman added 18 points and 16 rebounds, Marcus Camby had 14 points, and reserve Craig Smith 12. Baron Davis was held to two points on 1 of 10 shooting.
Hoping to erase the memories of last season's 19-63 record, the Clippers got a jolt of bad news a day before the season began when they learned Griffin will be out for up to six weeks with a broken left kneecap. Dressed in a suit and tie, he watched from a seat behind the bench.
Still, the Clippers kept it close at times, even if their only lead was by one early in the game. They trailed by 12 early in the third and closed to 76-75 on Camby's alley-oop dunk at the end of the period.
But the Lakers opened the fourth with an 10-2 run and soon pushed their lead to 89-79 on Odom's 3-pointer, energizing a mostly blase crowd that included David Beckham, Jack Nicholson, Charlize Theron and Odom's new wife, reality starlet Khloe Kardashian.
The Clippers committed nine turnovers in the first quarter when they trailed by 10, the same margin they were behind by at halftime.

Los Lakers festejan sus anillos de campeones inaugurando la campaña con triunfo

Los Lakers de Los Ángeles le dieron una buena pulida a su corona de campeones de la NBA.
Kobe Bryant anotó 33 puntos, Andrew Bynum agregó 26 al cumplir 22 años y los Lakers defendieron el martes su titulo con una victoria de 99-92 sobre los Clippers, su coterráneos del Staples Center que jugaron sin la primera selección del draft Blake Griffin, que está lesionado.
Los Lakers comenzaron la noche con una ceremonia en que develaron la pancarta en oro y púrpura que conmemora el 15to campeonato de la franquicia, la cual ganaron hace cuatro meses al vencer a Orlando en la final.
El comisionado David Stern les entregó los anillos incrustados de diamantes a casi todos los integrantes del equipo de la campaña anterior, menos a Ron Artest, quien dejó Houston para incorporarse a los Lakers en el receso de la temporada.

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[authur007]

type "short guy dunks" in the youtube search box to see a 5ft 5in guy dunking a 10ft hoop

[kglin]

clippers should have won? are u kidding,, lakers led as many as 17 pts...

[sylicone221]

wishing LA a very nasty el nino this year! HAPPY EL NINO!

[deanwoods52]

those rings are pimp!

[thesomeone48]

@ultimatederon of course the fakers are happy to see the real reffs back, they're the reason the fakers beat boston in game 7 this season.

[Jedijettson]

Clippers suck! Lakers are better. The difference between the Clippers and Lakers are they are from different things of LA. Becuz Lakers are BETTER! And Jack Nicholson was in the beginning.

[ultimatederon]

This was a game that the Clippers could have won. The Clippers shot better from the field, out rebounded the Lakers, had more assists, the Clippers bench out-scored the Lakers bench by 20, but the foul trouble (27-15) and free throw disparity (37-16) was too much to over come. I am sure Laker fans are glad to see the "real" refs back.