The Lakers came out on fire Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center, and Denver was outmatched and outscored from the very first play. At the end of the first, the Lakers were up  27-14…in large part due to a solid performance from Ebanks, who stepped in as small forward for the injured Barnes.  Denver came back to within 5 pts during the second–Eek! Eek!–but the Lakers surged ahead to a 50-40 lead at halftime. And the lead held during the third, closing out the quarter at 77-64 Lakers, all way to the end of the fourth.

Final Score?

103-88 Lakers! Woot! Woot! Good way to start off the playoffs LA!

Big Up to Ebanks, with 12 points and 5 rebs. Not to mention the always productive Sessions, with 14 pts, 5 assists, 2 rebs.

And, after a nice week of rest, the BIG 3 woke up! King Kobe, after spending the first half garnering some awesome 3 pointer assists, drawing double and triple teams, and setting up Sessions and Blake, had 31 points, 5 rebs, and 4 assists at the end of the game! Gasol turned it out nicely with 13 points, 8 rebs, and 8 assists. And Bynum, newly committed to defense, had 10 points, 13 rebs, and 10 blocks!  And anyone notice how Bynum blocked blocked blocked his way to his 10th Triple Double, tying Hakeem Olajawan’s record?

Day-um.

With defense this hot, no one stands a chance against the Lakeshow. Case in point: our play of the game. Anybody see how Bynum picked up Lawson on a pick and roll switch, tracked him to the rim, then blocked Lawson’s shot with secondary help from Gasol with 3.13 remaining in the quarter?

Pure magic.

But we can’t forget our super-productive bench!  Barnes had 4 steals and 6 rebs, while Steve Blake made three 3 pointers for 9 points and 4 assists. Jordan Hill had 10 pts, 10 rebs…and his first major scandal this morning.

Go LA Go! See the Lakeshow take on Denver again Tuesday night at 7:30 PM! But with Hill and MWP out and Barnes injured—will Los Angeles be able to repeat their Denver domination?

Get Your Game On!