8:50- Sonics finally get on the board on a Watson layup, but the Lakers get a quick outlet, beat the Sonics down the floor, and Ronny gets himself an easy layup.  If this keeps up, we might have something very similar to the UCLA, Mississippi Valley State game on our hands.

7:40- Lakers 14, Sonics 5.

6:53- Fish crosses over on Watson in a big, bad way, then gets to the hole and is fouled.  He misses the first, but Seattle calls another timeout anyway.  Now, I'm not someone who believes that box scores can always tell the story.  Sometimes, in fact, they can be misleading.  Not right now though.  To wit:

Lakers currently 7-9 from the floor (.778), Seattle 2-12 (.167).
Lakers five assists, Seattle one. 
Lakers seven boards, Seattle four. 

In that context, the 17-5 score (after Fish makes his second FT) makes a lot more sense.

5:55- Watson hits a thre, and the lead is back down to ten... and the Lakers actually miss a shot.  Then Johan Petro gives the ball back on one of the most blatant, totally ridiculous travels I've ever seen.  Nobody near him, and Petro started to dribble, then stopped (kinda), then just sort of tripped. It must be fun to be PJ Carlisimo right now.

4:06- Lakers give up four quick points on two conceded jumpers (the first to Durant, the second to Watson), and Phil calls a timeout.  Bad as they are, the Sonics are still an NBA team (seriously, they are), and if left wide open, will make shots.  Under any sort of pressure, the Sonics don't put up a lot of points, so as long as the Lakers maintain a modicum of defensive intensity, they should be okay.  I think PJ just wanted to remind them of that. 

Starters still in off the TO, 22-13 LAL.

3:02- Good sequence for the Lakers.  They work the ball down low, then kick it back out.  Fish finds Ronny flashing to the high post, he moves it, and Kobe ends up with a WIDE open three.  He missed, then Odom got the rebound and was fouled on the putback.  That's the sort of thing they need to do.  Move, make the extra pass, put themselves into the interior of the defense, and create good shots. 

Good thing about that is it also puts people in a good position to rebound offensively.

2:00- It's the defense that needs to tighten up a little.  The Lakers just gave up an open three to Wilkins as LO was late to close.  A couple trips before, Collison had an open look to the hole when nobody stopped his penetration towards the basket.  Uncontested layup.   Right now, the Lakers are giving up a few too many easy shots. 

END OF THE FIRST: Lakers 34, Sonics 21.

Overall, a very good opening quarter for the Lakers.  Great ball movement, taking very good and generally uncontested shots.  Want to talk about sharing?  How about 12 assists on 14 buckets.  That helps account for the 63.6% mark from the floor.  Ronny already has four assists, Kobe three.  Odom finishes the quarter with 10/8.  Honestly, if he doesn't end up with a double-double, that's his fault. 

Could the Lakers be a little more attentive defensively?  Sure.  But when you're killing people on the other end like the Lakers are, well, sometimes it's not that big a deal. 

AK with the second.

SECOND QUARTER

9:54 - Ah, the feathery touch of DJ Mbenga.

9:17 - What starts out looking like a two man game between Farmar and Walton (Farmar dribbles at the top of the circle, hands off to Walton just outside the key, then cuts), eventually turns Walton y' Vujacic.  Sasha flashes towards the basket on the opposite side Farmar ran.  Walton hits Sasha with the bounce pass.  Easy lay up for "The Face."

7:54 - Love seeing Vlad put back the rebound off Mbenga's miss.  LOVED Ronny's reaction on the bench.  Jumps up and down, tosses his towel in the air, then lets it just flop down across his head and sit a few seconds before any removal.  It's always entertaining when Turiaf's on the sideline.

6:06 - Sasha drains a triple off what I'd call a "only Vlad would do that" kinda pass.  Having receieved a fairly awkward pass in the corner from Farmar, Vlad wasn't ready to shoot and tried to pass off to Sasha.  The ball gets blocked back to Vlad, who proceeds to swat it like a volleyball again in Vujacic's direction.  All's well from there.  Like BK and I have said many times, we both like Vlad a lot, but the dude is a little odd.  That pass reflects his personality to a tee.

4:17 - This time, a more conventional pass from Vlad (two hands, may have even began in the chest area) sets up Ronny for the dunk.

2:31 - Durant picks up little in the way of resistance on the way to the basket, putting in a layup that suddenly has the Laker lead in single digits.  90 seconds later, Vlad leaves the kid alone for a wide open trey ball.  Suddenly, it's a six point Laker lead.  I wouldn't say I'm "worried," in the traditional sense.  After all, it's Seattle and Kobe hit a jumper as I typed.  But all things being equal, the more they let Seattle hang around, the less rest the starters can get after a tough roadie with a game against Golden State awaiting.

The half winds down to a 62-54 Laker lead.  Didn't love a lot about the second quarter.  The Sonics' shooting precentage jumped from 40% to 49, the Lakers turned the ball over five times and generally played considerably too loose.  Again, I'm not worried about them blowing this game (at least not at the moment, if nothing else) and I realize they may be tired.  But that being said, this game presents a prime opportunity for Kobe, LO, and the other starters to get a long break during the fourth.  I'd love to see it happen and a disciplined third could likely guarantee it.  We'll see what happens after the break.  BK with the third.    

THIRD QUARTER:

10:14- After a couple Seattle buckets, the Lakers finally get on the board with a sweet little driving layup in which he held the ball out, and I'm talking a long way out because his arms are about 16 feet long, lingered in the air a little, then dropped it in for the and one.  You just can't guard that. 

9:38 Lakers 67, Sonics 58.

8:47- The Lakers are getting some good looks at the hoop, but aren't getting much to fall.  2-7 to start the quarter, after shooting nearly 60% in the first half.  But the ball movement and spacing are there, it's just a matter of getting the shots to fall.

Which they do, as Fish hits a little mid range jumper. 

Next trip down, Vlad hits a triple, and the lead is back to 12.  72-60 Lakers. 

7:45- Timeout on the floor, and it appears Vlad Rad has some blood on his wrist, and seems to be upset that there was no whistle at whatever point it got there.  Might have been on that last three, but it was hard to tell.  It looks like a legit scrape, and he'll have to sit while they stop the bleeding.

Luke in for him.

5:35- Timeout on the floor, Lakers 76-64.  They haven't run the Sonics out of the building, but they haven't let them anywhere near back into the game, either.  Whenever Seattle makes a little push, the Lakers respond with a little run and a couple of stops.  Or the Sonics just tun th eball over adn make it easier. 

4:33- Ridnour hits a little jumper along the baseline, and the lead is back to 12 for LA.

3:09- Luke misses two straight jumpers, one a mid range number along the baseline off a nice feed from Kobe, the other a wide open three in rhythm that he had to take.  He had already passed up an open three earlier in the possession.  His shooting woes continue, to say the least.

Kobe attacks the rim and draws a foul on Petro, who did a good job making sure the ball wasn't going anywhere.  If you're gonna foul near the hoop, eliminate the possibility of an and one.

Lakers up by 10, 78-68.

Kobe misses the first.  He's leaving more of those off the rim these days.  Makes the second.  Lakers by 11. 

1:59- Lakers are getting a little complacent, and the lead is under 10.  FIrst, Wilkins blows by Vlad for a foul and FTs, then the Sonics get a long rebound and the easy putback.  Again, it's not that there's any feel that the Sonics are in control, just that they're still hanging around.  It would be nice to finish the quarter up by, say 15. 

1:17- Great sequence by LO.  Skies hard to get the rebound, snagging it from a pair of Sonics, then gets out hard on the break draws everyone in green into the lane, and kicks out to an open Farmar for an easy three. 

END OF THE THIRD:

Lakers run the lead back out to 93-76 with an 11-4 run to end the quarter. LO has his fingerprints all over the last couple minutes, with a board and a couple assists.  Two triples from Farmar, an Mbenga make, and a Kobe layup  combined with some stops, and now the Lakers have that comfortable lead they wanted heading inot the fourth.

Second units start- Sasha, Vlad, Luke, Farmar, Mbenga.  AK to take it home.

11:36 - Walton kicks off the frame with a successful hook shot.  It kinda goes without saying that he could use the offensive lift tonight.  Two possessions later, he gets fed by Vlad cutting to the basket and notches the layup.  Four quick points can hopefully quell some of the hesitation he's obviously feeling with the rock.

9:53 - Farmar with the alley.  Mbenga (and that is not a typo) with the oop.  Look out CP3 and Tyson Chandler.  There's two new sherrifs in town.

8:19 -MBenga cleans the glass and shuttles the rock to Sasha, who wastes no time putting one up after parking himself just inside the arc.  Nothing but net.  On the next Laker possession, Vujacic sets up Vladdy for a try ball that pushes the Laker lead to a cozy 25.  We're a couple minutes and a few stops away from allowing Ira Newble to get some run before the ink on his contract even dries.  Here's to hoping.

7:02 - Mbenga mbacks down down Donyell Marshall.  Mbucket is good!!!

5:19 - Walton hits Farmar with the cross court alley oop, allowing the Bruin to show off his hops.  The pass is a little high, but Jordan manages to make it happen. 

One dead ball later, Coby Karl enters the action.  Whither Ira Newble?

4:00 - Luke knocks down a trey ball shortly after having dsank a runner.  That's 15 points for Walton this frame, but that shot may have been his biggest, in terms of what he needs to hopefully get himseld out of these shooting dregs that have kept him down much of the season.  In particular, he's been both faulty (and absolutely timid) when it comes to his outside shot.  And until defenses have to respect it, the options increase for teams defending the Lakers.   

Newble in the house!!!

3:21 - Newble has the ball under the basket with time running down.  He's not working with much real estate, but he needed to put it up.  The pass to Walton in the corner doesn't arrive in time.  24 second violation.  I doubt he's cut, though.  No worries.

2:14 - Another 24 second violation, this time also involving Newble.  With time expiring, Newble snatches the ball from a scrum after Farmar loses the handle.  But rather than put it up, he pass off to Farmar, who doesn't have time to get the shot off.

1:47 - Coby Karl DRIVES THE LANE, but rather take it to the hole, he dishes to Mbenga, who cans the mid-range J.  You can make an argument that we've officially hit "everything's coming up Lakers" mode right now.

1:14 - The Sonics accrue their 101st point, robbing the fans of their taco dreams.  The Laker nation gives their squad an earful.    

50.8 - Mark it.  Ira Newble's first two points as a Laker.  Reverse layup in traffic off a Walton feed.  Finally, no violation.

The final score winds down.  Lakers 130l, Sonics 105.  After three quarters of cruise control, the Lakers put the pedal to the metal in the fourth and finally put Seattle out of reach (and misery).  Luke Walton notched 17 points during that frame, complimenting the other six Lakers (Farmar, Sasha and all five starters) to hit double figures.  Hell, even DJ Mbenga was hitting jumpers.  That kinda night.  More to come later.  Thanks for dropping by.