Home Court Advantage

Going into tonight's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, many people felt LA's chances weren't that great. However, they forget Kobe Bryant was playing and he proved otherwise, but it was his supporting cast that helped LA go up 2-1 in this series.

Jordan Farmar replaced Derek Fisher as the Lakers starting point guard in lieu of his suspension during game 2. In the first quarter Farmar showed why he was selected to start over rising guard Shannon Brown, with agressiveness to steal the ball in the beginning of the game which led to a Trevor Ariza dunk. Farmar finished with 12 points, and 7 assists.

Another vital member of the Lakers win was forward Lamar Odom who finally was placed back into the starting lineup. Odom started the game off by catching an alley-hoop pass from Trevor Ariza 9 seconds into the game.

The game belonged to Bryant though who went 5 for 6 from the field and had 11 points in the first quarter. However, he did struggle in the second quarter missing six of seven shots as well as a quiet third. Then the game really shifted when Bryant hit a 33-foot three pointer in the final 3 seconds at the buzzer.

The fourth quarter had it's compelling moments once again, as has this whole series. The Lakers held a 12 point lead entering the quarter and the game started to go back and fourth as time dwindled. Bryant continued to hit a numerous amount of difficult shots which propelled his team to victory. The biggest play of the quarter was Ron Artest getting ejected for the second straight game on a hard foul against Pau Gasol.

The Lakers 108-94 victory shifts home court back to the Lakers and puts them up 2-1 in this best 0f 7 game series.