Lakers Continue to Give Up Leads

The Lakers emerged victorious last night at Staples Center, with a 114-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors, but they dipped to three points deep after leading by 18 points in the third quarter and had fans worried. There has been a trend of building leads and losing them lately for the Lakers, shown in recent games against the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers (remember Tuesday night’s game when Philly overcame a 14-point deficit to emerge victorious?).

The Warriors closed in 107-114 thanks to a basket by Monta Ellis (27 points) but Trevor Ariza stepped into a three-point shot for a 110-104 Lakers lead. Then Stephen Jackson missed a three-point shot and Lamar Odom (16 points, 12 rebounds) was fouled; Odom made both freethrows for a 112-106 lead. Of the Lakers’ propensity to give up leads, Luke Walton said, “We know it’s there. we know we’ve got to fix it. We just can’t keep talking about it.” The Lakers are still one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (55-13) for the best record in the league.

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