What a game. Only caught the second half but what I saw was steady defense win the game. I didn't get the impression that the Spurs were shutting down the Lakers as much as they were able to disrupt the flow. The Lakers often found themselves improvising on offense and not getting their typical looks. When the Lakers wanted they could pound the ball inside but because of the pressure on the perimeter the Lakers had trouble with the entry pass. I assume this "disruption" seemed to go on all game, based on shotting %, with the exception of the opening minutes of the second half when the Lakers were getting dunks and layups. Typically I expect Kobe to make some of the big plays needed to win these types of games, whether or not Bowen is guarding him, but yesterday Bowen and the Spurs interior D made it too difficult on Kobe. The team D on Kobe was excellent, when Kobe would get by Bowen there would be someone waiting at the rim.
On the flip side the Lakers were able to clamp down on the Spurs on defense but only in short spurts. They couldn't keep up the pressure for any extended amount of time so the Spurs only needed to make big plays every now and then as opposed to the Lakers having to make big plays almost every other possesion. TD and Parker made the big plays when needed and Willis just seemed to get the crucial lose balls for put back or extra possesions. A more consistent effort on D from the Lakers is needed.
All in all it was a great game.
P.S. I could very easily give credit for the win to the refs, as I'm positive would have happened had the Lakers won, but I don't have that much free time today.
