Showtime Lakers Part 2
The crowd was roaring with excitement in Jason Kidd's debut. The Lakers finally took a lead in the 4th quarter off an alley oop to Andrew Bynum from the greatest point guard to wear a Laker uniform since Magic Johnson.
"It was a great win. For us, for the fans. It was entertaining." said Bryant. Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points and added 4 assists. "Jason's a great player and any time you have someone of that caliber on your team you know it's gonna be good."
The newest Laker Jason Kidd struggled a bit with his shooting make only 5 of his 17 attempts but overall had a strong debut with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists.
Reserve Adam Morrison came off the bench to end the 3rd quarter to give the starters some rest but ended up making 3 3 pointers and finishing with a season high 13 points in just 7 minutes.
Andrew Bynum also had one of the best games of his career with 20 points and 18 rebounds. "Jason just opened everything up for me. He draws attention, he has great vision... I didn't even need to try on any of my shots."
Trevor Ariza was another Laker that had a good night with 17 points 9 rebounds and 8 assists and also knocked down crucial 3 pointers in the 4th quarter.
The Hawks wasted a 40 point effort from Mike Bibby who just could not stop knocking down jumpshots. Bibby had 30 points at the halftime and cooled off but still added 10 points in the second half.
"We played good, but they played better. There isn't much more you can do about that." said Mike Bibby.
The Lakers will play the second game of their back to back tomorrow at Golden State.
Stats at a glance127 Hawks - 133 Lakers
Hawks Leaders
Points - Mike Bibby (40)
Rebounds - Al Horford (9)
Assists - Mike Bibby (10)
Steals - Maurice Evans (3)
Blocks - Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia (2)
Lakers Leaders
Points - Kobe Bryant (26)
Rebounds - Andrew Bynum (18)
Assists - Jason Kidd (10)
Steals - Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, Adam Morrison, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton (1)
Blocks - Pau Gasol (2)