Lakers v. Hornets: Game 2 Recap

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets April 20 at the Staples Center in what could only be considered an audition for WWE Tough Enough.

The physical scrum, full of leg whips, high elbows, technicals and generally chippy behavior, was ignited in the first quarter when Kobe Bryant, charged with the task of guarding Chris Paul, threw a couple shoulders in the direction of the fifth-year point guard.

Bryant, who seemed disinterested with scoring, only had 11 points, 6 of which came late in the fourth quarter. But Bryant's energies seemed to be focused on limiting the effectiveness of Paul, who had torched the Lakers two days earlier. The defensive was similar to Bryant's three years ago with Team USA. Paul only scored 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting but did not score his finial 7 points until late in the fourth quarter with the game seemingly decided.

The Lakers got help from Andrew Bynum, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds as well as two blocks. Lamar Odom also had a better second game, posting totals of 16 points and 7 rebounds while Ron Artest was 2-for-5 from three-point territory while scoring 15 points to help lead the Lakers to a 87-78 victory.

The win prevented the two-time defending champions from being put in a 2-0 series deficit while reinvigorating some of the Lakers fire. One that seems in need of more stoking is Laker forward Pau Gasol who seems to still be in a passive playoff slump. Guarded by Hornets forward Aaron Gray, Gasol found it difficult to find consistency with his shot and seemed to be uncomfortable with his established position once he received the ball in the post.

But that didn't stop the Lakers, who seemd to be on a mission Wednesday night, playing with increased intensity and physicality. iIt's obvious the Hornets drew the attention of the Lakers. Now the question is are they going to be able to recuperate and steal another game back home in New Orleans and make this a series? Only time will tell, but April 22 will bring answers to that question soon enough.