Lakers Stay Upbeat Despite Offensive Woes
(Kobe) Bryant actually changed his tune on Friday. Rather than reverting back into hero mode after a game in which he scored 30 points on 11-for-22 shooting while his teammates combined for just 50 on 18-for-54 (33.3 percent), Bryant focused on the Lakers outscoring the Magic 49-44 on 47.4 percent shooting in the second half.
“We did a great job,” Bryant said of the second two quarters. “We got a lot of great looks. I mean, a lot of them. We just got to keep hitting the open man and those shots will fall.”
(Mike) Brown echoed Bryant’s upbeat outlook:
“In the second half we played with the energy, the sense of urgency, that we needed to on both ends of the floor, and that was good to see,” he said. “We had great ball movement, great spacing. We played the way that I think eventually we’re going to be capable of and it showed in the box score, the stat sheet, and it showed on the court.”
Pau Gasol, who missed eight of the 12 shots he took, stressed the importance of him and other open teammates getting the chance to take those shots in the future.
“Continue to share the ball,” Gasol said. “Continue to make the right pass and trust that it will get to the open guy and the open guy will shoot it, and that’s the best we can do. If we continue to do that, it’s not going to be frustration or anything because we’re making the right decisions.”
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